A Delhi court on Monday took cognisance of charges filed against industrialist Naveen Jindal, former coal secretary P C Parekh, and others under Indian Penal Code provisions relating to criminal conspiracy and cheating, as well as the Prevention of Corruption Act. Special judge Sunena Sharma described the case as 'one of the most voluminous chargesheets of coal block cases.'
Summons Issued to Accused
The judge issued summons to Naveen Jindal, his company JSPL, Parekh, Rakesh Kumar Jindal, Ram Kishore, S K Agarwal, and Jindal Strips Ltd (now Nalwa Sons Investments Ltd), directing them to appear before the court on July 17.
CBI Allegations
According to the Central Bureau of Investigation, Jindal Strips Ltd was allotted the Gare Palma IV/1 coal block in Chhattisgarh in 1996 for a sponge iron plant with a capacity of 0.6 million tonnes per annum, despite the block containing substantially higher coal reserves. The approved mining lease area was fixed at 705 hectares, but the lease was allegedly executed beyond the area approved by the central government. The CBI alleged that the irregularity was later regularised by a screening committee in 2005, which also proposed additional land beyond the approved area.
The court noted that when JSPL sought approval in March 2004 to increase production at the coal block from 2 million tonnes per annum to 6 million tonnes per annum, the coal ministry found discrepancies in lease boundaries and excess production and sought an explanation.
— Koushiki Saha
