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Former steel ministry official jailed for three years in coal scam
Former executive secretary of the joint plant commission of the Union ministry of steel, GK Basak, has been sentenced to three years of rigorous imprisonment and fined ₹5 lakh in a coal block allocation case. The court also gave Basak the benefit of setting off the period he had already undergone in detention. This is the 14th conviction in the coal allocation scam.
A Delhi court on Tuesday sentenced former executive secretary of the joint plant commission of the Union ministry of steel GK Basak to three years of rigorous imprisonment and imposed a fine of ₹5 lakh on him in a case related to alleged irregularities in coal block allocation.
“In the opinion of this court, ends of justice would be met by awarding Goutam Kumar Basak rigorous imprisonment for a period of three years for the offence... Additionally, the convict shall pay a fine of ₹500,000,” said special judge Arun Bharadwaj.
The court added that if the accused fails to pay the fine then he would further undergo imprisonment for a period of three months. However, the court also gave the accused the benefit under Section 428 of CrPC setting off the period he had already undergone in detention while the case was being tried.
The counsel for the CBI pressed for the maximum sentence and the heaviest amount of fine while on the other hand Basak’s counsel submitted that he was 72 years old and was suffering from heart and prostrate diseases.
It was also argued that Basak’s wife had undergone a knee surgery and suffers from asthma and needs his assistance because there is no one else to take care of her as their daughter is married and is living in another city.
The court after hearing the arguments of both the parties and going through their submissions observed that “sentencing is the most important stage after conclusion of the trial in a criminal case. At this stage, the mitigating circumstances as well as aggravating circumstances have to be considered by the court before deciding the sentence”.
“Sentencing should neither be too lenient otherwise the law loses its deterrence, nor should it be harsher than required,” the court added.
According to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), this is the 14th conviction in the coal allocation scam.
On August 18, the court convicted Basak under section 13(2) read with section 13(1)(d) of the Prevention of Corruption Act (PC Act) and discharged him under section 120B (criminal conspiracy) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).
The court convicted Basak observing that he gave a false report after inspecting the premises through his personal visit and based on spot verification. Thus, the court added that, “the report was false, and it was in his knowledge that he is giving a false report”.
The CBI said in its case that M/s Prakash Industries Ltd in 2007 submitted its application for allocation of Vijay Central Coal Block. The company claimed in the application that its capacity to produce sponge iron was 8 lakh tonnes per annum and was proposed to be increased to 2 million tonnes per annum but complaints were received by the ministries of coal and steel regarding misrepresentations being made.
After the complaints, Basak was directed by the ministry of steel to personally visit the place to assess the production capacity through spot verification. Basak prepared and submitted a verification report
Later, complaints were again received by the two ministries, after which an interministerial committee was set up. The committee conducted a spot verification and found that M/s Prakash Limited had furnished false information and Basak had given a false verification report.
The court, while convicting Basak, on August 18, also discharged one other accused Soumen Chatterjee, who had accompanied Basak for the spot verification, noting that the prosecution was not able to prove the charges against him.
