Accused drag ex-PM into Coalgate

NEW DELHI: Former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's name has been dragged into the coal block allocation scam in which Congress leader and industrialist Naveen Jindal, ex-minister of state for coal Dasari Narayan Rao and 13 others are accused. On Friday, Rao and another co-accused - former coal secretary H C Gupta - told a special court that it was the then PM who took the controversial decision of final allocation of Jharkhand's Amarkonda Murgadangal coal block.
The two made the submissions while seeking bail when they, along with other accused, appeared in court in pursuance of the court's summons. Meanwhile, all the 10 accused individuals in the case - including Jindal and former Jharkhand chief minister Madhu Koda - were granted bail by the court.
The court granted relief to the accused on the ground that they have joined the investigation and there was no apprehension that they would flee from justice.
Pertinently, the special court had earlier summoned Manmohan Singh and others as accused in a separate coal block allocation case. The summoning order was later stayed by the Supreme Court.
Seeking bail for Rao, his counsel told the court he had nothing to do with the allocation of the said coal block to Naveen Jindal's group firms - Jindal Steel and Power (JSPL) and Gagan Sponge Iron (GSIPL) - in 2008, adding that the then PM also held the coal portfolio at the time. "The decision regarding final allocation was taken by the minister of coal, who was the then Prime Minister. I (Rao) had nothing to do with it. Being the minister of state for coal, I (Rao) only forwarded the notes. The decision was taken by the Prime Minister's Office (PMO), not by me (Rao)," he told the court.
Similarly, Gupta sought bail saying he, as the chairman of screening committee, only forwarded the recommendations to the then coal minister. "Being the chairman of the screening committee, my (Gupta's) job was to compile and forward the recommendations to the PM, who was also the coal minister. Screening committee was only a recommending body," Gupta's advocate said.
Seeking bail for Jindal, his counsel contended that no loss was caused to the government because of the said allotment of coal block to Jindal's firms. However, the judge asked Jindal's counsel not to discuss loss and gain at this stage, following which the counsel withdrew his submission. After the arguments on the bail plea of the 10 accused persons in the case, the court granted bail to all of them on a personal bond of Rs 1 lakh each with one surety of the like amount.
The accused, which also includes five companies, were summoned by the court in the case pertaining to alleged irregularities in allocation of Amarkonda Murgadangal coal block to the two Jindal group firms.
The six private persons who were granted bail are Gyan Swaroop Garg, Suresh Singhal, Rajeev Jain, Girish Kumar Juneja, R K Saraf and K Ramakrishna Prasad. While granting bail to all the accused persons, the court said undoubtedly the allegations against the accused persons were serious in nature and more so as they occupied high positions in the society. But it said there has been no allegation that they did not join the investigation as and when called. "I, thus, without entering into any further details on merits or demerits of the case at this stage of the matter, deem it appropriate that the interest of justice will be suitably met if all the above 10 accused persons are released on bail...," the judge said. However, while granting the relief, the judge directed the accused not to tamper with evidence or influence witnesses and not leave the country without the court's prior permission. The court has now fixed the matter for June 1 for scrutiny of documents.
During the hearing, CBI vehemently opposed the bail pleas of Jindal and others, saying the accused are high profile industrialists, politicians and public servants. The prosecutor said most of the prosecution witnesses were employees of various industries of the accused persons and there were chances of tampering with evidence. The CBI counsel also alleged that Jindal had paid a bribe to Rao to secure the coal block.
The hearing was conducted in a jam-packed court room in the presence of a battery of lawyers, scribes and onlookers. The searing heat was apparent on Jindal, who was forced to take off his coat during the proceedings due to the humidity inside the courtroom.
During the hearing, an NGO's advocate sought to be impleaded as an intervener in the case saying he was one of the whistleblowers against corruption in society and wanted to place some "correct facts" before the court. The court, however, refused to give him a hearing at this stage and said he would be heard when the need arose.
In its chargesheet in the case, CBI has alleged that Jindal had promised Congress support to the then "unstable" Koda government in Jharkhand in return for a recommendation for allocation of Amarkonda Murgadangal coal block to his group firms. Koda, then an independent MLA, was chief minister of Jharkhand from September 14, 2006 to August 23, 2008 with the support of Congress, RJD and others.
While summoning the accused, the court had observed that Jindal had prima facie "manipulated" the entire government machinery to procure an undue coal block allotment in Jharkhand. It had also said that Koda had conspired with Jindal and abused his official position to extend "undue benefits" to JSPL and GSIPL.
The court had said that, prima facie, offences under section 120-B (criminal conspiracy) read with sections 409 (criminal breach of trust by public servant), 420 (cheating) of the IPC read with section 13(1)(c) and 13(1)(d) (criminal misconduct by a public servant) of the Prevention of Corruption Act were made out against all the 15 accused.