Coal scam: CBI files Special Leave Petition in Supreme Court against HC order

NEW DELHI: CBI today informed the special court that it has filed an appeal against a Delhi High Court order quashing charges against Prakash Industries Ltd (PIL) and its director in a coal blocks allocation scam case, after the Law Ministry gave its nod to do so.

Senior public prosecutor V K Sharma said a Special Leave Petition (SLP) has been filed in the Supreme Court on March 12, against the High Court's September 5, 2014 order which is likely to come up for hearing next month.

"Senior PP V K Sharma submits that a SLP has been filed in the Supreme Court in the present matter. Put up for further hearing on May 12," Special CBI Judge Bharat Parashar said.

CBI had earlier told the court that it was awaiting the nod of the Law Ministry to file an appeal in the case.

The high court had quashed charges of cheating, forgery and criminal conspiracy framed by the trial court against PIL and its Director (Corporate Affairs) A K Chaturvedi.

The other two accused in the case -- Goutam Kumar Basak and Soumen Chatterjee -- have sought alteration of charges framed against them earlier in view of the high court order. The plea is pending before the special court.

Executive Secretary Basak and Manager (F&A) Chatterjee of Steel Ministry's Joint Plant Committee had told the court that it should alter the charges framed against them as the high court had quashed charges against PIL and Chaturvedi.

Basak and Chatterjee were earlier put on trial on charges of cheating, forgery and other offences under IPC and under provisions of Prevention of Corruption Act for allegedly giving a misleading report regarding PIL's production capacity.

The Joint Plant Committee was set up in 1964 by the government to formulate guidelines for production, allocation and pricing of iron and steel and is the only institution which is officially empowered by the Steel Ministry to collect data on iron and steel industry.

According to CBI, on the basis of alleged inflated production figures and "bogus reports" submitted by PIL, Basak and Chatterjee, the screening committee allotted captive coal block at Urtan in Madhya Pradesh and Vijay Central in Chhattisgarh to PIL.