Coal case: Court grants bail to former secretary

A special court here on Monday granted bail to former coal secretary H.C. Gupta and others in a coal block allocation case, allegedly involving Pushp Steels and Mining Pvt. Ltd.

Special Judge Bharat Parashar granted bail to former coal secretary Gupta and asked him to furnish a personal bond of Rs.1 lakh and a surety of a like amount.

The court also granted bail to Pushp Steel's director Atul Jain.

Both of them appeared before court in pursuance of summons issued against them.

The court slated the matter for further hearing on August 26.

The case pertains to allocation of Madhya Pradesh's Brahmapuri coal block to Pushp Steels and Mining Pvt. Ltd (PSMPL).

A case was registered against the company and its officials in April 2013 under various sections of the Indian Penal Code dealing with criminal conspiracy and cheating.

The CBI filed a fresh chargesheet in the case on May 20. The probe agency said the company allegedly misrepresented facts while applying for coal blocks.

The CBI has alleged that Gupta conspired with the company and its director, and allocated Brahmapuri coal block in favour of PSMPL, violating all guidelines laid down in this regard.

The allocation was also against the recommendations of the state of Madhya Pradesh and the ministry of steel.