CBI to continue probe despite PM's rebuttal

Findings to decide on closure or chargesheet

The Central Bureau of Investigation’s (CBI) probe into the coal block allocation case will continue despite Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s rebuttal to the CBI’s First Information Report (FIR) against industrialist Kumar Mangalam Birla, CBI officials said.

However, the officials pointed out that an FIR marks only the beginning of an investigation and, hence, the CBI would decide its future course of action, even if that means a closure report, based on the investigation’s findings.

At a time when CBI is yet to seek legal opinion on the case, a law ministry official has reportedly told the media that there’s no evidence with the investigative agency against Birla. A CBI official dismissed the statement as “unsolicited”.

The investigating agency, meanwhile, is considering sending a questionnaire to the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) as well, seeking its version to get first-hand information on the matter. Reacting to the Prime Minister’s statement on Saturday owning up and defending the coal allocation process, a CBI official said that nothing had been specifically conveyed to the agency. Since investigation cannot be on hearsay, the agency will conduct its own due diligence and take a decision based on the Supreme Court’s directions, the official pointed out.

The CBI will file its status report on the coal probe in the Supreme Court on Tuesday. The agency will apprise the court on all matters relating to the coal block allocation scam including the three preliminary inquiries, 14 FIRs and two inquiries into the missing files.

Singh had on Saturday broken his silence on the controversial issue of allocation of Talabira coal blocks in Odisha to Hindalco Industries in 2005, justifying the decision while taking full responsibility for it.

According to Singh, the case deserved a review of an earlier decision of the screening panel, which had rejected the application of Aditya Birla Group’s flagship. The PM’s statement came days after the CBI registered an FIR against industrialist Birla, former coal secretary P C Parakh and Hindalco.

The FIR alleged criminal conspiracy and abuse of official position, accusing Parakh of overturning the recommendation of the screening committee and making Hindalco a joint allottee in the allocation after his meeting with Birla, while the final decision was taken by the “competent authority”.