A Special CBI Court in New Delhi acquitted three former senior Ministry of Coal officials in the Mahuagarhi coal block allocation case. However, it convicted Jas Infrastructure Capital Pvt Ltd (JICPL) and its director Manoj Kumar Jayaswal for cheating and conspiracy related to the fraudulent allocation of the Jharkhand coal block.
The verdict, delivered on June 6 by Special Judge Sanjay Bansal, found no evidence that the officials—HC Gupta (former Secretary, Ministry of Coal), KS Kropha (former Joint Secretary), and KC Samria (former Director)—acted dishonestly or with corrupt intent during the 2008 joint allocation of the Mahuagarhi block to JICPL and CESC Limited.
The case dates back to 2006-2007 when the Ministry of Coal invited applications for 38 coal blocks. JICPL applied for the Mahuagarhi block in Jharkhand, proposing a 1,215 MW power plant. The allocation process involved several stakeholders, including the Ministry of Power, state governments, and the 35th Screening Committee, which recommended the joint allocation in January 2008.
The Central Vigilance Commission referred the case to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), which initially found insufficient evidence to prosecute the officials or private parties. Despite the CBI’s closure reports in 2014, the court ordered prosecution after finding preliminary evidence of cheating and conspiracy by private parties and possible misconduct by public servants.
Charges were formally framed in 2016, and the trial concluded with this latest judgment.
The court detailed how JICPL inflated its financial credentials to secure the coal block. Though its actual net worth was just ₹1 lakh, JICPL falsely included the net worth of IL&FS and Inertia Iron & Steel Industries, claiming a combined worth of over ₹1,000 crores. The company misrepresented its status as a Special Purpose Vehicle managed by these firms, which was untrue.
Significantly, JICPL applied for the coal block for a power plant in West Bengal but presented a project for Bihar’s Bhagalpur district without filing a separate application. It also hid previous poor-performing coal block allocations linked to its parent group, the Abhijeet Group.
The court found false claims about project appraisals and debt syndication, noting the lack of proper appraisal reports and incomplete project documentation at the time of application.
However, the court found no solid evidence of criminal conspiracy or misconduct by the officials, noting they acted within established procedures. It emphasized the allocation was a collective decision by the Screening Committee, so singling out individual officials was inappropriate.
The judgment convicted JICPL and Manoj Kumar Jayaswal under sections 420 (cheating) and 120-B (criminal conspiracy) of the Indian Penal Code. They were found guilty of fraudulently inducing the government to allocate the coal block.
The court acquitted the three officials, stating no criminal intent was proved.Senior advocates and public prosecutors represented the CBI during the trial.
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