A special court on Thursday acquitted former coal secretary HC Gupta and a company-- Pushp Steel & Mining Pvt Ltd (PSMPL)--in a case relating to irregularities in the allocation of a coal block, saying the Central Bureau of Investigation had “miserably failed” to prove the charges laid against them.
Special Judge Bharat Parashar also rejected the charges of criminal conspiracy and criminal misconduct alleged by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in the case centred on the allocation of the Brahmapuri coal block in Madhya Pradesh.
Gupta and the firm were charged with criminal conspiracy under section 120-B of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and with criminal misconduct under the Prevention of Corruption Act. He was also accused of criminal breach of trust by a public servant i.e. under section 409 of the IPC.
Till date, Gupta, who was coal secretary from December 31, 2005 to November 2008, has been named as a suspect in 12 cases out of which he has been convicted in three, appeals against which are pending in the Delhi high court. Trial in the other eight cases is pending.
“There are altogether 12 cases against HC Gupta out of which he has been convicted in three and acquitted in one. We have filed appeals in the Delhi high Court in the cases where he has been convicted and the sentence has been suspended. For rest of the eight cases, the trial is pending before special judge Bharat Parashar,” Rajat Mathur, Gupta’s counsel said.
{{/usCountry}}“There are altogether 12 cases against HC Gupta out of which he has been convicted in three and acquitted in one. We have filed appeals in the Delhi high Court in the cases where he has been convicted and the sentence has been suspended. For rest of the eight cases, the trial is pending before special judge Bharat Parashar,” Rajat Mathur, Gupta’s counsel said.
{{/usCountry}}The case pertained to the alleged irregularities in allocation of a coal block to PSMPL. In its charge sheet filed in May 2015, the CBI had alleged that the firm had misrepresented facts while applying for the coal block. The company was allotted Brahmapuri coal block in Madhya Pradesh on the recommendation of a screening committee for its proposed Sponge Iron End Use Project in Durg district.
The CBI had filed a charge sheet alleging that Gupta facilitated the allocation of Brahmapuri coal block in favour of PSMPL by entering into a criminal conspiracy with the company.
CBI’s counsel informed the court that PSMPL shouldn’t have received the coal block in line with the guidelines issued by the ministry of coal. Neither the ministry of steel nor the Madhya Pradesh government had recommended the company, yet the screening committee headed by Gupta went ahead and assigned the coal block to PSMPL, the CBI claimed.
The agency had also alleged that “Gupta clearly misled PMO while stating that all the recommendations were processed on the basis of inter se priority and on merits besides stating that the company PSPML has already obtained iron ore mining lease in its favour and which fact was also not correct.”
Appearing for Gupta, advocate Rajat Mathur had denied the allegations and claimed that the case of the CBI was false. He had told the court that no evidence was produced in the court to establish any criminal conspiracy
While acquitting Gupta, the judge said that the “prosecution has been unable to prove that HC Gupta was exercising any exclusive dominion/control over the said coal blocks or that the said nationalized natural resources of the country were entrusted to him in any manner”.
Rejecting the charges of criminal misconduct, the judge said, “No malafide intention on the part of accused HC Gupta stands proved on record. The question of having obtained allocation of Brahmapuri coal block in favour of M/s PSMPL without any public interest thus also does not arise,” said the court.
The court also ruled out any criminal conspiracy between Gupta and the firm as alleged by the CBI.
“...no evidence has been led by the prosecution which could show existence of any meeting of mind between the two accused persons or existence of any agreement between them.
“In fact there is no evidence on record which could show existence of any unlawful agreement or adopting of any unlawful means by the accused persons to achieve any act i.e. obtaining of allocation of Brahmapuri coal block in favour of company M/s PSMPL,” the court said.