You are very slow: Supreme Court tells CBI on coal block allocation cases

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Monday rapped the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) for its “slow” probe process in some of the coal block allocation cases and asked the agency and the Enforcement Directorate (ED) to submit reports on February 9, 2015 on the progress made by them in investigations till February 5.

The apex court also dismissed a batch of pleas filed by various firms seeking impleadment and re-look of its earlier verdict by which allocations of 214 out of 218 coal blocks were quashed.

“You (CBI) are very slow,” a three judge-bench headed by Justice Madan B. Lokur said and asked the probe agency to expedite its investigation. The apex court on Monday allowed the CBI to file chargesheets or closure reports in coal allocation scam cases in which it had earlier restrained the agency to do so in view of allegations against its then director Ranjit Sinha.

The agency can now file its reports in the trial court. On CBI’s content-ion that Gujarat government has so far not provided some requisite information. The bench asked the chief secretary of the state to provide them without any further delay.

The court also asked the counsel for the CBI to provide information to the ED at the earliest so that the probe into the money-laundering aspect of the coal scam cases can be expedited.

Further, the apex court dismissed a batch of pleas filed by various firms seeking impleadment and re-look of its earlier verdict by which allocations of 214 out of 218 coal blocks were quashed. “We are not going into it,” the SC said.