Ex-PM Manmohan summoned by court in coal scam case

Criminal conspiracy and corruption charges stare at Congress leader

GN Bureau | March 11, 2015


#manmohan singh   #cola scam   #kumar mangalam birla  


In an ultimate denouement, former prime minister Manmohan Singh, industrialist Kumar Mangalam Birla, along with a couple of highly-placed executives in Hindalco have been summoned to appear before court on April 8 in the coal scam case.

Special CBI Judge Bharat Parashar summoned the accused for the alleged offences punishable under Sections 120B (criminal conspiracy) and 409 (criminal breach of trust by public servant, or by banker, merchant or agent) of the IPC and under the provisions of the Prevention of Corruption Act (PCA). If convicted, the accused are liable to be sentenced for a maximum of life imprisonment.

Manmohan Singh said on Wednesday that he was upset. "I am upset, but this is a part of life," Manmohan Singh told reporters. "I am sure that the truth will prevail and I will get a chance to put forward my case with facts," the former PM added.

Minister of State for Chemical and Fertilizers and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Hansraj Ahir on Wednesday said it is extremely unfortunate for the nation that Manmohan Singh has been summoned. "This is unfortunate for the nation that a former prime minister has been summoned. But this is the law of the land and I am happy that it has been applied to everyone," said Ahir, who is the whistleblower in the coal scam.

Singh, Birla, ex-coal secretary P C Parakh and three others were on Wednesday summoned as accused by a special court in a coal scam case pertaining to allocation of Talabira-II coal block in Odisha in 2005. Besides these three, the court also summoned M/s Hindalco, its officials Shubhendu Amitabh and D Bhattacharya as accused in the case.

The court had in December asked for Manmohan Singh to be examined. Before the court's order, the CBI had suggested it would like to drop the case against Hindalco and others saying it could not find evidence against them.

The case pertains to a decision of the 25th Screening Committee which had disallowed the allocation of Talabira II Block to Hindalco, which was subsequently reversed after meetings between KM Birla and the former coal secretary.

The coalgate surfaced after the CAG report in 2012 questioned the government's practice of awarding coal mining concessions to companies without competitive bidding. The Supreme Court last year scrapped nearly 214 coal blocks allocated by successive governments over the past two decades.

Comments

 

Other News

Mobile coverage has expanded to include 6.22 lakh villages

Out of 6,44,131 villages in the country (as per the Registrar General of India), around 6,22,840 villages have mobile coverage and out of these, 6,14,564 villages are covered with 4G mobile connectivity as on 30.09.2024. Under Pradhan Mantri Janjati Adivasi Nyaya Maha Abhiyan (PM JANMAN) Mis

Community-driven tourism for a sustainable India

Tourism is a vital pillar of economic growth and employment generation all across the world. It offers vast potential for sustainable livelihoods while promoting India’s rich cultural and natural heritage. According to the World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC), tourism`s contribution to India&rsq

Autumn in Delhi is a sight to behold – grey air or no grey air

Delhi: A Nature Journal By Anuradha Kumar-Jain, with Illustrations by Bahaar Meera Jain Rupa Publications, 240 pages, Rs 695

The overlooked link: climate policy and public health

Returning from a recent Renewable Energy (RE) meeting of the World Meteorological Organisation (WMO), UN in Germany, I was struck by the news of Delhi’s record-high AQI levels forcing partial closures across NCR. This alarming situation begs the question: Is our health sector climate-resilient enough

Exploring the treasures of India arts is a treat with this guide

The Big Book of Indian Art: An Illustrated History of Indian Art from Its Origins to the Present Day By Bina Sarkar Ellias Aleph Book Company, 815 pages, Rs 2,499

Himalayan heights potentially perfect for India`s ‘Quantum Leap’ to space: Study

In a pioneering study for the Indian subcontinent, scientists have mapped out optimal locations for beaming quantum signals into space. Satellite-based quantum communications including quantum key distribution (QKD) represent one of the most promising approaches toward global-scale quantum c

Visionary Talk: Amitabh Gupta, Pune Police Commissioner with Kailashnath Adhikari, MD, Governance Now


Archives

Current Issue

Opinion

Facebook Twitter Google Plus Linkedin Subscribe Newsletter

Twitter