SC asks coal block allottees to cough up dues on time

NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Wednesday refused to relax the December 31 deadline for companies to pay up additional levy at the rate of Rs 295 per metric ton of coal extracted from illegally allotted coal blocks, which were cancelled, and refused to entertain Jindal Power's plea for 17 months time to deposit around 1,800 crore due from it.

A bench of Justices Madan B Lokur, Kurian Joseph and A K Sikri also dismissed a plea challenging Centre's Ordinance on coal auction which provided that no company could participate in coal auction if it failed to clear the due by the end of this year.

Attorney General Mukul Rohatgi submitted almost three months have gone since the SC's judgment on this count but the companies chose to approach court at the last moment. He said auction was going to be held in February and the entire scheme for auction of coal blocks pursuant to the cancellation of allotment would go haywire if the court entertained such petitions.

Senior advocates K K Venugopal and Abhishek Manu Singhvi, appearing for JSL, pleaded that the company was ready to pay Rs 100 crore per month and that it should be given 17 months to clear the due. But, the bench refused to entertain the plea.

The special bench also refused to entertain a petition filed by BLA industry, which submitted that court should take a re-look at its order regarding cancellation of coal block allotted to it. It said that the coal block to it was allocated by the Madhya Pradesh government and not by screening committee whose decisions on allocations were held illegal by the apex court.