Coal scam: Court asks CBI to be careful while filing documents

CBI should be careful while filing final reports and ensure that names of all relevant witnesses and documents are submitted to the court in a proper condition, a special court conducting trial in coal scam cases has said.

The court made the suggestion while allowing the CBI's plea for adding names of five witnesses and filing some additional documents on record in a coal scam case in which former Coal Secretary H C Gupta and five others are accused.

Special CBI Judge Bharat Parashar allowed the agency's plea considering that it was one of the initial cases filed in the coal blocks allocation scam and the records were voluminous too.

"...I am of the considered opinion that though CBI ought to have been careful while filing the final report so as to ensure that names of all relevant witnesses is mentioned and documents are filed in proper condition but since the present case is one of the initial cases filed in coal block allocation cases and also the records are voluminous so in the interest of justice I allow the application," the judge said.

The court also said that it does not find any circumstance which may prejudice the accused at this stage, especially when recording of prosecution evidence is yet to begin.

"However, accused persons shall be at liberty to point out any prejudice if caused to them by allowing the present application during the course of trial," it said.

In its plea, CBI had sought permission to add names of five prosecution witnesses, saying the relevant documents which were to be provided by them were already on record.

It also sought permission for filing some additional documents, saying names of witnesses related to these were already there on record.

CBI told the court that they would also provide the copies of these documents to the accused.

The court had earlier framed charges against Gupta and five others in the case pertaining to alleged irregularities in allocation of a coal block in Madhya Pradesh to accused firm Kamal Sponge Steel and Power Ltd (KSSPL).