Rajya sabha MP Vijay Darda, with his son Devendra Darda and businessman Manoj Kumar Jayswal, on wednesday, were sentenced to 4 year imprisonment by the Delhi court . They were found guilty of involvement in the irregularities concerning the allocation of a coal block in Chhattisgarh. Following the court’s ruling all three convicts were taken into custody.
In addition to the aforementioned individuals the court also handed down a three year jail term to ex-coal secretary H.C. Gupta, along with two former senior public servants, K.S. Kropha and K.C. Samria. However, the court granted bail to three convicts on a personal bond, allowing them to approach the high court against their conviction and sentencing.
Furthermore, the court imposed a fine of Rs 50 lakhs on JLD yavatmal energy pvt ltd, the company that was found guilty in the case.
The recent conviction marked the 13th instance in the coal scam, a significant political scandal that shook the then Manmohan singh government. On July 13, the court found seven individuals guilty under sections 120-B (criminal conspiracy) and 420 (cheating) of the IPC, as well as relevant positions section 13(1)(d)(iii) of the prevention of the corruption act.
Nevertheless the court acquitted the accused of charges under section 409 of the IPC, which pertains to criminal breach of trust by public servants.
As per the central bureau of investigation(CBI), JLD yavatmal energy pvt ltd obtained the Fatehpur east coal block in Chhattisgarh by allegedly participating in a criminal conspiracy and misrepresenting facts regarding their eligibility conditions.
It was alleged that the allocation of the coal block to JLD yavatmal energy was a result of the active collaboration between the company’s official and the ministry of coal personnel (Moc)
Namely Gupta, Kropha and samaria.
At that time H.C. Gupta held the position of coal secretary and chairman of the screening committee while Kropha served as the joint secretary in the Moc, and acted as the member convener of the screening committee. As for samaria, he was also employed in the Moc, and the accusation was that all of the applications were received in his office. Moreover, his office was responsible for overseeing the entire application processing and the allocation procedure of the coal blocks.
Initially, on April 15, 2014, the CBI filed a closure report in the case, stating that there was insufficient evidence to establish any criminal conspiracy or cheating. However the predecessor judge rejected the closure report in November 2014, asserting that private parties involved had indeed committed cheating, and there was active collaboration with officials from the ministry of coal.
In a comprehensive order spanning 400 pages, the court has now ruled that the accused company did engage in misrepresentations and deceitfully influenced the government of india.
Regarding the role of the public servants, the court held them accountable for their actions, clarifying that even though the guidelines issued by the Moc to govern the allocation of the captive coal blocks may not be regarded as law under Article 13 of the constitution, it was binding upon the officers involved in the process.
According to the court allocating the block to an ineligible company goes against public interest. The actions of the three officers unmistakably indicate their efforts to favorably recommend the allocation of the coal block in favor of JLD.
