A special CBI court on Monday sentenced former coal secretary HC Gupta and others to two years in prison for cheating and criminal conspiracy in allocation of a coal block to a private firm.
A special CBI court on Monday sentenced former coal secretary HC Gupta and others to two years in prison for cheating and criminal conspiracy in allocation of a coal block to a private firm.
Gupta, who was the coal secretary from December 31, 2005 to November 2008, then joint secretary K S Kropha and then director K C Samaria in the coal ministry were held guilty by the court for irregularities in allocation of the Thesgora-B Rudrapuri coal block in Madhya Pradesh to Kamal Sponge Steel and Power Ltd (KSSPL).
The CBI had urged a special court to award the maximum punishment of seven years jail term to Gupta. However, the convicts had sought leniency, citing old age and no previous conviction in any other case.
The court also imposed a fine of Rs one lakh each on the three convicts and Rs one crore on convicted private firm Kamal Sponge Steel and Power Ltd.
All the convicts were granted bail soon after the sentence was announced to enable them move the High Court.
On May 19, the court had convicted Gupta, Kropha and Samaria. It also held the firm and its managing director Pawan Kumar Ahluwalia guilty of the offences, including cheating.
The court, however, acquitted chartered accountant Amit Goyal in the case.
The CBI had in October 2012 lodged an FIR in the matter, but on March 27, 2014 it filed a closure report. The court rejected the closure report on October 13, 2014 and summoned Gupta and others as accused.
The CBI had alleged that the firm had misrepresented its net worth and the existing capacity, adding that the state government had also not recommended the firm for the allocation of any coal block.
The court had on October 14 last year framed charges against them, 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 in him on the issue of coal block allocation.
(With agency inputs)
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