New Delhi: CBI on Monday informed a special court that it has not yet sent necessary records to the competent authority for according sanction to prosecute two senior government servants for their alleged roles in a coal scam case.
The agency told this to Special CBI Judge Bharat Parashar who had on August 5 directed them to conduct further probe in a case allegedly involving Vikash Metal and Power Ltd (VMPL). CBI sought some time from the court to send the records to competent authority on the issue of sanction to prosecute K S Kropha, the then joint secretary in the Ministry of Coal (MoC), and K C Samria, then Director (CA-I), MoC, for alleged offence under the Prevention of Corruption Act.
"It has been submitted (by CBI) that the necessary records have not been sent yet to the competent authority.
Some more time has been sought in this regard. Accordingly, matter be now put up on September 2," the court said. The court had earlier asked CBI to conduct further probe in the case saying prima facie "active collusion" was found on part of the public servants for not verifying the claims made by the firm.
The court's order had come in the case in which CBI had filed a supplementary final report on April 7 this year after the court had last year refused to accept the closure report and directed the agency to further investigate the matter.
The case pertains to alleged irregularities in allocation of Moira and Madhujore (North and South) coal blocks in West Bengal to VMPL.
In the supplementary final report, CBI has chargesheeted Vikash Patni, Managing Director of VMPL, Anand Mallick, its authorised signatory and the company for alleged offence under sections 120B (criminal conspiracy) and 420 (cheating) of IPC.
Regarding other directors of the firm or public servants involved in coal block allocation to VMPL, it was stated by CBI that no offence was found to have been committed by them.
CBI has said though lapses were found on Kropha's part, no criminality was found to have been committed by him and thus regular departmental action (RDA) for major penalty has been recommended by it.
Regarding H C Gupta, then Coal Secretary, CBI has said lapses in processing the application were found on his part also but since he has retired from government service, so no action was being recommended.
The case involves VMPL and its officials in which they are accused of making false claims relating to land allocation to get undue advantage in coal block allocation. The FIR in the case was registered in September 2012.
CBI, in its FIR, had said that VMPL had wrongly claimed that it had been allocated 300 acres of land in Begusarai in Bihar by the Bihar Area Development Authority. It had found that land was de-allocated and directors of the firm had failed to inform the screening committee members about it, CBI had said.
