Coal scam: Ex-coal secretary, two others summoned as accused

The court also summoned H C Gupta for prima facie substantive offence under section 409 of the IPC, which entails life term as maximum punishment, and under provisions of the anti-graft law.

Written by Kaunain Sheriff M

New Delhi | Updated: July 9, 2015 12:37 PM IST

2 min read

Coal scam, Coal block allocation, Santosh Bagrodia, coal scam case, Manmohan Singh, Supreme Court, Aditya Birla group, Hindalco, Hindalco coal scam, india news

A special court on Monday summoned former coal secretary, H C Gupta, and two others as accused in the case involving allocation of Brahmapuri coal block to Pushp Steels and Mining Pvt Ltd (PSMPL), allegedly resulting in a loss to the exchequer due to allottment by “dubious means”.

Special Judge Bharat Parashar observed that Gupta prima facie committed acts of “ommission and commisson” and “conspired” with accused firm PSML to “ensure the allocation of Brahmapuri coal block”.

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“It is clear that H C Gupta who was Secretary Coal and Chairman, Screening Committee conspired with PSMPL and its director Atul Jain in order to ensure allocation of Brahmapuri coal block in favour of PSMPL, in violation of all guidelines laid down in this regard and against the recommendation of State of Madhya Pradesh and Ministry of Steel,” the court observed. The court has also summoned PSMPL and its director Atul Jain as accused on August 3.

The CBI in its chargesheet has alleged that PSMPL was recommended for allocation without there being any recommendation either by state government or by the Ministry of Steel. “Not only loss was caused to the other applicant companies but also to Government of India as valuable natural resources of the country i.e. coal stood allotted to a company by dubious means,” the court said.

Kaunain Sheriff M

Kaunain Sheriff M is an award-winning investigative journalist and the National Health Editor at The Indian Express. He is the author of Johnson & Johnson Files: The Indian Secrets of a Global Giant, an investigation into one of the world’s most powerful pharmaceutical companies. With over a decade of experience, Kaunain brings deep expertise in three areas of investigative journalism: law, health, and data. He currently leads The Indian Express newsroom’s in-depth coverage of health. His work has earned some of the most prestigious honours in journalism, including the Ramnath Goenka Award for Excellence in Journalism, the Society of Publishers in Asia (SOPA) Award, and the Mumbai Press Club’s Red Ink Award. Kaunain has also collaborated on major global investigations. He was part of the Implant Files project with the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ), which exposed malpractices in the medical device industry across the world. He also contributed to an international investigation that uncovered how a Chinese big-data firm was monitoring thousands of prominent Indian individuals and institutions in real time. Over the years, he has reported on several high-profile criminal trials, including the Hashimpura massacre, the 2G spectrum scam, and the coal block allocation case. Within The Indian Express, he has been honoured three times with the Indian Express Excellence Award for his investigations—on the anti-Sikh riots, the Vyapam exam scam, and the abuse of the National Security Act in Uttar Pradesh. ... Read More

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Coal Scam H C Gupta