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4w ago

Delhi Court Acquits Former Coal Officials; Convicts JAS Infrastructure

Arguments on sentencing for the convicted firm alongside its director are set for July 8, signaling a shift to corporate accountability in the coal allocation probe.

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Overview

  • Former coal secretary H.C. Gupta, joint secretary K.S. Kropha and allocation director K.C. Samaria were cleared of charges related to the Mahuagarhi coal block allocation in Jharkhand.
  • Special Judge Sanjay Bansal convicted JAS Infrastructure Capital Pvt Ltd and its director Manoj Kumar Jayaswal for cheating and criminal conspiracy after finding they misrepresented financial details to secure the coal block.
  • This ruling marks the 19th conviction in the Central Bureau of Investigation’s broad inquiry into coal block allocation irregularities since 2012.
  • The Central Bureau of Investigation filed a closure report in November 2014, but the court rejected it and framed charges against both the officials and the private firm in December 2016.
  • The coal allocation scandal, estimated to have cost the exchequer ₹1.86 lakh crore, prompted the Supreme Court in 2014 to cancel 204 coal block allocations deemed illegal.