Ex-MoS for Coal, ex-Coal Secy summoned as accused
23 July 2015 4:27 AM IST
Former Minister of State for Coal Santosh Bagrodia, ex-Coal Secretary H C Gupta and retired public servant L S Janoti were on Tuesday summoned as accused by a Special Court in a coal scam case pertaining to allocation of Maharashtra’s Bander coal block to AMR Iron and Steel Pvt Ltd.
Special CBI Judge Bharat Parashar took cognisance of the alleged offences punishable under sections 120-B (criminal conspiracy) read with 420 (cheating), 409 (criminal breach of trust by public servant) under the IPC and under relevant provisions of the Prevention of Corruption (PC) Act. The court said on January 30, 2015, when the earlier order was passed in the case, Janoti was an active public servant so prior sanction of competent authority was needed to prosecute him for offence under the PC Act but since he has retired on May 31 this year, now there was “no bar” on taking cognizance of the offence against him.
“Thus, on account of LS Janoti having retired from government service and the competent authority having not taken any decision qua the issue of according sanction to prosecute L S Janoti despite record having been sent on February 20, it is clear that now there is no bar in taking cognizance of the offence under PC Act against him also,” the court said.
“I, thus, without going into any further length of the matter and proceeding further from my detailed observations made in order dated January 30, 2015, hereby deem it appropriate to take cognizance of the offences of criminal conspiracy i.e. offence under section 120-B IPC against the three public servants also i.e. H C Gupta, the then Secretary (Coal), Santosh Bagrodia, the then Minister of State for Coal, and L S Janoti, the then section officer, CA-I,” the judge said while summoning them as accused for August 18.
These three accused were summoned as accused in the case in which the CBI had earlier chargesheeted Rajya Sabha MP Vijay Darda, his son Devendra Darda, AMR Iron and Steel Pvt Ltd and its Director Manoj Jayaswal as accused.
No decision on sanction despite reminder: CBI
CBI on Tuesday informed a special court that "despite reminders", no decision has been taken yet by the competent authority on the issue of grant of sanction to prosecute two public servants for their alleged involvement in two separate cases in the coal block allocation scam. The agency informed CBI Judge that it sent the entire relevant records of the case, to competent authority way back in February.
Ex-Director in PMO deposes as witness in court
A senior public servant, who was a Director in the Prime Minister’s Office in 2012, on Tuesday told a special court conducting trial in a coal scam case that a request was received in PMO in which CBI had sought copies of files pertaining to coal block allocation scam. Sanjay Lohia, who is now a Joint Secretary in the Department of Agriculture and Co-operation, appeared before the court as a CBI witness in a case in which Delhi-based Rathi Steel and Power Limited (RSPL) and its three officials are facing trial. “In August 2012, I was posted as Director in PMO. In July- August 2012, a request was received in PMO from CBI seeking copies of the files pertaining to coal block allocation as some preliminary enquiry was registered by CBI,” he told Special CBI Judge Bharat Parashar.“The request of CBI was addressed to Joint Secretary and CVO, Ministry of Coal, who in turn had forwarded the letter to the PMO,” he said. He said that after taking approval from senior officers of PMO, he had forwarded the copies of relevant records to CBI.
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