Coalscam: Sought nod to prosecute govt servants, CBI to court

CBI today told a special court that it has forwarded a request to the competent authority to consider granting sanction to prosecute two public servants who have been summoned as accused in a coal blocks allocation scam case.
The agency informed Special CBI Judge Bharat Parashar that request for grant of sanction to prosecute two government servants -- then Joint Secretary of Coal Ministry K S Kropha, and then Director (Coal Allocation-I section) K C Samaria -- for the alleged offences punishable under the Prevention of Corruption Act, has been sent to the authorities.
"The IO (investigating officer) states that necessary documents have been submitted to the competent authority to consider grant of sanction to prosecute two public servants in terms of order dated October 13...Matter will now be fixed for January 16," the judge said.

The case pertains to alleged misrepresentation of facts, including inflated net worth, by Madhya Pradesh-based company Kamal Sponge Steel and Power Ltd (KSSPL) to acquire Thesgora-B/Rudrapuri coal block in Madhya Pradesh.
The court had earlier summoned former Coal Secretary H C Gupta, Kropha, Samaria, KSSPL's Managing Director Pawan Kumar Ahluwalia, chartered accountant Amit Goyal and the firm as accused in the case after refusing to accept CBI's closure report filed in the matter.
These five individual accused were earlier granted bail by the court after they had appeared before it in pursuance to the summonses issued against them.
All the accused were summoned in the case for offences under sections 120-B (criminal conspiracy), 409 (criminal breach of trust by public servant) and 420 (cheating) under IPC. Only Gupta was summoned for the offences punishable under the Prevention of Corruption Act.

The court, in its order passed on October 13, had noted that since Samaria and Kropha were still in active government service, no cognizance of alleged offences punishable under the Prevention of Corruption Act could to taken against them due to want of sanction order to prosecute them.