Coal Scam case: Hearing adjourned for March 6, CBI seeks more time to examine documents

The Special Court on Monday adjourned the hearing in the Coal Scam case for March 6th, as the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has sought more time to examine documents pertaining to the matter.

The court allowed the investigating officer's (IO) plea seeking time on the ground that he had finalised the report, forwarded it to senior authorities and was awaiting approval.

In the previous hearing, the court had granted two weeks' time to the CBI to file the final report in a proper format in the cases against Congress leader and industrialist Naveen Jindal, ex-Minister of State for Coal Dasari Narayan Rao and others.

Earlier, the Supreme Court ordered the CBI to probe the allegation of misuse of power by former CBI director Ranjit Sinha in the scam.

A report of a SC-appointed panel had held that prima facie there was an attempt to influence investigation in the coal scam cases by Sinha.

On January 13, the CBI filed the final report against Jindal, Rao and others in connection with the case.

Jindal, however, had refuted allegations of any involvement in the Amarkonda Murgandangal coal scam case in which he has been chargesheeted as an accused along with former Jharkhand Chief Minister Madhu Koda and 13 others.

The court had earlier pulled up the CBI for the delay in filing the report, saying it was affecting the progress of the trial.

The CBI had alleged that Koda, also accused in the case, had favoured Jindal group firms - Jindal Steel and Power Ltd (JSPL) and Gagan Sponge Iron Private Ltd (GSIPL) - in the allocation of Amarkonda Murgadangal coal block in Jharkhand.

Opposing the CBI's contention, all accused said that there was no evidence to show that there was any conspiracy during the coal block allocation process.