Sunday, May 1, 2022

Ex-coal secretary HC Gupta misled PMO, says CBI in fresh charge sheet

A special CBI court has taken cognizance of a fresh Central Bureau of Investigation chargesheet accusing former coal secretary HC Gupta of “misleading the (then) prime minister officer” in a 2007 coal allocation scam. The court has summoned Gupta. The then Joint Secretary Coal KS Krofa and two others have accused Gupta and other officials of showing “unfair side” to a private company based on the chargesheet.

The court has held that there is “sufficient material to show the offenses” of cheating, criminal conspiracy and charges of corruption under the provisions of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988.

The court has left it to the “intelligent” of the CBI to challenge the denial of government sanction to prosecute the then Coal Ministry director, who, according to the chargesheet, “willfully ignored the violation of guidelines” for coal block allocation. intentionally chosen to do”. in Jharkhand.

While the CBI got nod to prosecute Gupta, the government refused to sanction the prosecution of the then director KC Samaria. The court has made it clear that “if during the course of the trial, the role of any other person involved in the process – be it a private party or a public servant – comes to the fore, necessary action will also be initiated against them by law”.

The CBI had earlier filed a closure report against the involvement of government employees in the scam, but in 2017 a CBI court rejected it and asked the agency to conduct further investigation. As per the directions of the court, the CBI conducted the investigation and filed a fresh charge sheet in December 2021.

The charge sheet alleges that Gupta “misled the PMO and deliberately overlooked apparent discrepancies and changes in the application format in favor of Consteel Limited (co-accused)” and that the company was sold to Hurilong and Hutar Sector-C Coal in Jharkhand. Block allocation is recommended.

“It was the duty of the Joint Secretary Coal to place before the members of the Screening Committee the relevant data/recommendations of the concerned Administrative Ministry and State Governments so as to facilitate the Screening Committee to take an objective decision, but failed to do so,” it alleged. Put it.

The charge sheet claimed that the accused conspired together and deceived the Coal Ministry’s Screening Committee to persuade Contestyl to recommend coal block allocation.

Originally published at Pen 18

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