Ex-MP Vijay Darda, son Devendra sentenced to 4 years in jail in coal block allocation case

Former MP Vijay Darda and his son, Devendra Darda, have been sentenced to four years in jail for irregularities in coal block allocation in Chhattisgarh.

Published on: Jul 26, 2023, 14:40:31 IST

By HT News Desk

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A Delhi court on Wednesday sentenced former Rajya Sabha member Vijay Darda and his son, Devendra Darda, to four years in jail in a case related to irregularities in the allocation of a coal block in Chhattisgarh. JLD Yavatmal Energy Pvt Ltd director Manoj Kumar Jayaswal also received a four-year jail sentence while former coal secretary H C Gupta and two other officials K S Kropha and K C Samaria received a three-year jail sentence.

Former Rajya Sabha member Vijay Darda. (Twitter) (HT_PRINT)

The court also imposed a fine of Rs. 50 lakh on M/s JLD Yavatmal.

Earlier this month, special judge Sanjay Bansal convicted them under the Indian Penal Code (IPC)’s Sections 120B (criminal conspiracy) and 420 (cheating and dishonestly inducing delivery of property) and under the Prevention of Corruption Act.

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) said 13th convictions have been secured in the coal allocation scam, which rocked then Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s government in 2012.

During the argument on the quantum of sentence, the CBI sought maximum punishment, claiming that Darda and his son Devender had met former CBI director Ranjit Sinha at his residence to scuttle the investigation. The Supreme Court had constituted an SIT to investigate Sinha’s role in prima facie allegations against him for trying to influence the probe in coal scam cases.

CBI’s senior Public Prosecutor A P Singh further claimed that a witness in the case stated that he was threatened by Jayaswal, who tried to influence him to not depose against him.

(With PTI inputs)

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