HC quashes summoning of pvt company officials in coal block

The Delhi High Court today quashed a trial court's order summoning three officials of a private company for allegedly forging documents while making an application for allocation of additional coal block in 2007.
Setting aside the trial court's September 6 order summoning Girdhir Lal Mohta, Vipul Aggarwal, V P Aggarwal, officials of M/s Prakash Industries Ltd, Justice Sunil Gaur said "the impugned order summoning petitioners in their individual capacity as accused is rendered unsustainable and is accordingly quashed while not commenting upon the merits."
The court, however, said "it would be open to the trial court to summon petitioners as additional accused... If any evidence comes on record about the petitioners having knowledge of the application of January 12, 2007 along with forged documents or of their having approved it."

A charge sheet filed by CBI against Mohta and Vipul Aggarwal, the Directors of the company, and V P Aggarwal, the Chairman-cum-Managing Director, the officials had forged documents while making application on behalf of the accused company for allocation of additional coal block.
The court accepted the petitioners' argument that they can not be summoned in individual capacity as the application and documents for allocation of additional coal block was signed by A K Chaturvedi as President (Corporate Affairs) and Constituted Attorney of the accused company.
The trial court has, in its summoning order, said accused A K Chaturvedi is simply an employee of M/s Prakash Industries Ltd and as an employee he is not in a position to do anything of his own.

"Moreover, he is not at all the beneficiary of the allocation and the beneficiary, if at, was the company and from the allegations it is quite evident that submission of these forged documents to the Ministry of Coal for allocation of the coal block was within the knowledge and had the approval of the Directors of the Company," the trial court had said.