Try Naveen Jindal for contempt: Government to Delhi High Court

NEW DELHI: The government has asked the Delhi High Court to initiate contempt proceedings against industrialist Naveen Jindal and his former employee Rajesh Sharma, who was caught recording court proceedings in the last week of March. In its application, the government has alleged Sharma was standing behind coal ministry officials in the court and possibly recording confidential information. The application said Jindal was a “silent spectator” when Sharma was caught and concealed the fact that Sharma worked for him. The Delhi High Court is expected to deliver a verdict on Monday in a case filed by Jindal Power, challenging rejection of its bids for two coal blocks for which the company emerged as the best bidder. It was while this case was being heard that the incident involving Sharma took place. The application files by the government says Sharma and Jindal should be “punished “ as per law.

were terminated after the incident came to the notice of the company. It said the company had the highest regard for the judiciary and the law, and Sharma’s responsibilities did not require him to interact with lawyers or be present in court. “Sharma was present in the court premises in his personal capacity, without giving any prior information to the company or any of its officials… JSPL follows a zero tolerance policy, if breach / non-adherence by any employee comes to the notice of the company,” a company spokesperson told ET in response to an emailed query.

The government said that during hearing of a case in the Delhi High Court on March 27, court staff caught Sharma recording court proceedings on his mobile. Sharma, who did not have a valid pass for entry to court, did not disclose the identity of his employer and said that he was a businessman.