Delhi court acquits former coal secy HC Gupta, 2 senior officials over Jharkhand block allocation ‘scam'

Indian Express

13 hours ago

A Delhi court Friday acquitted former coal ministry officials H C Gupta (secretary), K S Kropha (joint secretary) and K C Samaria (coal allocation director) in a case linked to alleged irregularities in the allocation of the Mahuagarhi coal block in Jharkhand to the company M/s Jas Infrastructure Capital Pvt Ltd (JICPL).
While the three men – represented by advocates Rahul Tyagi and Mathew M Phillip – were acquitted, Special Judge Sanjay Bansal of Rouse Avenue Court convicted the firm JICPL and its director Manoj Kumar Jayaswal. Arguments on their sentence will be heard on July 8.
The allegations in the case were that JICPL had misrepresented various facts in its application and had fraudulently obtained the allocation of the coal block. Allegations against the public servants were that they had acted in a manner which was 'detrimental' to public interest and that they had allowed JICPL to 'misappropriate' nationalised natural resources.
In December 2016, a trial court in Delhi had framed charges in this case for alleged offences under sections 420 (cheating), 468 (forgery for the purpose of cheating), 120 B (criminal conspiracy) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and under relevant provisions of the Prevention of Corruption Act.
Initially, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) had filed a closure report in this case in April 2014, stating that no case was made out against the accused. A detailed closure report was filed on October 14, 2014. The court had on November 20 that year disagreed with the CBI's conclusion and held that a case was made out for taking cognisance of the alleged offences against the accused.
A Delhi court had in 2018 sentenced Gupta, Kropha and Samaria to three years' imprisonment in a case pertaining to alleged irregularities in the allocation of Moira and Madhujore (North and South) coal blocks in West Bengal to Vikash Metal and Powers Ltd.
In 2017, the three were convicted in a case related to irregularities in the allocation of Thesgora-B Rudrapuri coal block in Madhya Pradesh to Kamal Sponge Steel and Power Ltd (KSSPL).
Towards the end of its tenure, the UPA 2 government started being perceived as corrupt due to allegations connected with the 'coal scam'. A Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) report had at the time pegged the loss to the exchequer at Rs 1.8 lakh crore.
While 27 of the 54 cases being investigated by the CBI have been disposed of, the other half are still pending a decade later. With this case, the CBI has achieved 19 convictions. Three of its cases have ended in acquittals and two in discharge.
In the aftermath of the alleged coal scam, on August 25, 2014, the Supreme Court cancelled the allocation of 204 coal blocks, deeming them illegal and arbitrary. Additionally, it also levied a penalty of Rs 295 per tonne of coal that had already been mined over the years.
In his book titled Supreme Court and the Indian Economy, Pradeep S Mehta states that the apex court's decision increased the current account deficit by US$ 700 million due to additional coal imports. 'Around Rs 4.4 lakh crore was the estimated loss in royalty, cess, direct and indirect taxes, etc,' wrote Mehta, citing an SBI research report. Former Solicitor General of India Harish Salve had stated that the decision cost the economy 1 per cent of the GDP.