The CBI on Tuesday faced the ire of a special court for delay in getting necessary approval to file final report of its further probe in a coal blocks allocation scam case allegedly involving Vikash Metal and Power Limited (VMPL).
The CBI on Tuesday faced the ire of a special court for delay in getting necessary approval to file final report of its further probe in a coal blocks allocation scam case allegedly involving Vikash Metal and Power Limited (VMPL).
Special CBI Judge Bharat Parashar pulled up the agency after the investigating officer (IO) informed the court that although the further probe was complete, the final report was pending with concerned authorities for necessary approval.
The IO sought three weeks time to file the final report before the court in the case pertaining to allocation of Moira and Madhujore (North and South) coal blocks in West Bengal to VMPL.
"IO submits that though the process has been completed but the report has not been cleared by higher authorities for which three weeks time is needed to file the final report. I don't deem it fit to grant three weeks time. Put up the matter for further hearing on March 10," the judge said.
Questioning the delay in filing of the final report, the court asked the IO as to why the matter relating to grant of approval on the report was pending for so long.
"It's around 11 days since the last hearing. You are reiterating same thing what you said in last hearing. This should not go on," the court said.
Responding to it, the IO said that the file was pending with the higher authorities.
The court was hearing a case allegedly involving VMPL and its officials in which they are accused of making false claims relating to land allocation to get undue advantage in the coal block allocation. The FIR was registered in September 2012.
CBI, however, had later filed a closure report saying the charges against VMPL or its directors or even against the public servants could not be substantiated during the course of investigation. The court, on October 15 last year, had refused to accept the closure report and passed an order asking CBI to further investigate the case.
The court had noted in its order that it would have taken cognizance of offences of criminal conspiracy and cheating against VMPL and its directors or others involved, but the probe about alleged role of Coal Ministry officers and other public servants in the entire process of allocation of coal block needed to be further carried out.
Earlier, the court had pulled up CBI for "sitting over" and delaying further investigation in the case and had asked it to expedite the ongoing probe.
The FIR was registered against VMPL, its directors, including Vimal Patni, Vikash Patni and Anand Patni, and Anand Mallick who was the authorised signatory for the company. They were booked for the alleged offences under sections 120 B (criminal conspiracy) and 420 (cheating) of the IPC.
CBI, in its FIR, had said that VMPL had wrongly claimed that it had been allocated 300 acres of land in Begusarai in Bihar by the Bihar Area Development Authority.
The agency had found that the land was de-allocated and directors of the company failed to inform the screening committee members about it, it had said.
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