CBI likely to recommend closure of PEs into missing coal files

CBI is likely to inform the Supreme Court that it has received almost all the files related to the coal allocation scam from the Ministry and the two preliminary enquiries may be closed.
Highly-placed sources said the agency is likely to tell the apex court in the next month's hearing that since the files have been recovered it may proceed to close the ongoing enquiries in the missing records.
"Although the decision to close the preliminary enquiries will be ours, we will inform the Supreme Court before proceeding as it is a court-monitored probe," a senior official said.
The sources said they have not found any material which indicates mala fide on part of the coal ministry officials in withholding information from CBI regarding the coal block allocation scam.

CBI is probing 195 coal blocks allocations and in 16 of these cases, it has found prima facie material which indicates cheating, criminal misconduct and corruption, based on which it has registered FIRs.
All these FIRs are rooted in three preliminary enquiries related to coal block allocation between 2006 and 2009, 1993 and 2004 and projects given under the government dispensation scheme.

There are two other preliminary enquiries which are related to missing files. One was related to missing files for the allocations done during 2006-09 and the other related to files between 1993-2005.
The preliminary enquiries were registered against unknown persons.

During the analysis of documents and interactions with the Coal Ministry officials, CBI found that some of the crucial files were not in existence following which these enquiries were registered by it.