Published on: 13 July 2023 at 13:10 IST
In a significant development, The Special Coal Court of Delhi has convicted all the accused in a case involving alleged irregularities in the allocation of a coal block in Chhattisgarh. The convicted individuals include former Rajya Sabha lawmaker Vijay Darda, his son Devender Darda, ex-Coal Secretary HC Gupta, senior public servants KS Kropha and KC Samria, M/s JLD Yavatmal Energy Pvt Ltd, and its Director Manoj Kumar Jayaswal. Special Judge Sanjay Bansal delivered the guilty verdict, convicting them under sections 120B (criminal conspiracy) and 420 (cheating) of the Indian Penal Code, as well as relevant provisions of the Prevention of Corruption Act.
However, the accused were acquitted under section 409 IPC (Criminal Breach of Trust by Public Servants). The Court has scheduled arguments for July 18 to determine the quantum of punishment. The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) had previously stated that JLD Yavatmal Energy Limited obtained the Fatehpur East Coal Block in Chhattisgarh through a criminal conspiracy involving misrepresentation of eligibility conditions.
This marks the thirteenth conviction in a coal-related case related to the Coal Scam. The prosecution was led by Senior Advocate RS Cheema, along with Deputy Legal Advisor A F Singh and others. The CBI has registered several coal-related cases, investigating allegations of coal block allocations based on misrepresentations, false claims, and collusion or negligence on the part of public servants.