Coal scam: PC Parakh yet to choose his legal recourse

NEW DELHI: Former coal secretary PC Parakh, summoned as a co-accused by a CBI court along with former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Aditya Birla group chairman Kumar Mangalam Birla over the allocation of coal blocks to Hindalco, would firm up his legal strategy after the Supreme Court decides on an appeal expected to be filed by Singh.

A source close to the retired bureaucrat told ET that he has yet to decide on whether he would defend himself in the court or appoint a lawyer and is waiting to see if the apex court quashes the CBI court’s summons to them on charges of breach of trust and criminal conspiracy under the Prevention of Corruption Act of 1988.

Ever since the CBI launched a probe into the allocation of coal blocks, Parakh has persistently held that there was nothing malafide in the allotment of Odisha’s Talabira II coal block to Hindalco in a joint venture with public sector firm Neyveli Lignite.

“The CBI had investigated the case for nearly two years and found nothing incriminating,” said the source, adding that Parakh’s attempt to push for competitive bidding for coal blocks in 2004 stands vindicated in the face of the ongoing coal auctions that have already raised over Rs 2 lakh crore.