Delhi's Special Court has sentenced four years imprisonment to former Rajya Sabha MP and the chairperson of the Lokmat Group Vijay Darda, his son Devender Darda, M/S JLD Yavatmal Energy Pvt Ltd's Director Manoj Kumar Jayaswal in a case relating to irregularities in the allocation of a coal block in Chhattisgarh.
The Court also sentenced ex-Coal Secretary H C Gupta, two senior public servants KS Kropha and KC Samria for three years jail term in the same case. The court had earlier convicted the seven accused, including former Rajya Sabha MP Vijay Darda and ex-coal secretary H C Gupta in the case related to irregularities in the allocation of a coal block in Chhattisgarh, which rocked the erstwhile Manmohan Singh government.
The court held the accused guilty of criminal conspiracy (punishable under Section 120-B of IPC) and cheating (punishable under section 420 of IPC), and under relevant sections of the Prevention of Corruption Act. The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) said 13th convictions have been secured in the coal allocation scam.
The scandal came to light during the Manmohan Singh government in 2012 after the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) panned the government for ineffecient allocation of 194 coal blocks to public sector enterprises and private companies between 2004 and 2009 for captive use in a non-transparent way. The CAG initially estimated a massive loss of Rs 10.6 lakh crore to the exchequer, but its final report tabled in Parliament put the figure at 1.86 lakh crore.
