Coal block scam: Court returns charge-sheet to CBI

A special court here has returned the chargesheet filed by the CBI against a company and others in connection with coal block allocation case after the agency failed to respond adequately to the queries raised by the judge.

Special Central Bureau of Investigation judge Bharat Parashar has returned the final report filed in connection with case against Vini Iron and Steel Udyog Ltd, with the court noting that first information report was registered against 12 accused but only eight out of them are sought to be charge-sheeted.

At this, the CBI told court that four among those booked are public servants out of which two have retired.

Two accused are still in government service and necessary sanction for their prosecution has already been applied for from the competent authority but has not been received, the agency said.

The court then said that in absence of sanction, the cognizance of the offences cannot be taken against the two accused.

It observed that only one director of the company has been arrayed as an accused while other four accused people have not been charge sheeted.

"The charge-sheet merely states that 'no prosecutable evidence could be collected against them during the course of investigation'.

"A bare perusal of the report been filed shows that there is no legally admissible logic or reasoning in the final report which could correlate the conclusion of there being no prosecutable evidence against four accused persons vis-a-vis the nature of investigation carried out as find mention in the final report," the court said in the order delivered Thursday but released Friday.

A number of other queries have also been raised to which the investigating officer is unable to furnish any plausible explanation.

"In these circumstances, the charge sheet is hereby accordingly returned with the direction that the same may be filed after obtaining necessary sanction, if available, qua the two working public servants and other necessary clarifications as have been mentioned herein above," the court said in the order.