Ex-secy, 2 others convicted in coal scam case

A special court on Friday convicted former coal secretary HC Gupta and two serving senior officials for violations in a case related to the coal scam. This is the first conviction of a secretary-rank officer.

Special CBI Judge Bharat Parashar also convicted then joint secretary KS Kripoha and then director KC Samaria, who was associated with coal allocation. The court also convicted beneficiary firm Kamal Sponge Steel and Power Ltd (KSSPL) and its Managing Director Pawan Kumar Ahluwalia for offences, including cheating.

The quantum of sentence will be pronounced on May 22, and the convicts face a maximum jail term of seven years. The CBI had registered several cases in connection with corruption and violations of norms. The court had, on October 14 last year, framed charges against the accused, observing that former prime minister Manmohan Singh was "kept in the dark" by Gupta, who had, prima facie, violated the law and the trust reposed on him on coal-block allocation.

The 69-year-former bureaucrat was secretary for two years during the UPA regime before superannuating in 2008. The court held him guilty for not following a transparent procedure in allocating coal blocks, besides causing loss to the tune of crores of rupees to the exchequer.

Gupta hit the headlines last year when he broke down in the court, seeking to fight the case from inside the jail since he could not "afford" legal fee due to crumbling financial condition. He had also requested the court to hold a joint trial of all cases in view of his age and financial condition. The court rejected the demand. The court said that the cases were at various stages of trial.