The entire process of allocation of coal blocks was done in a "brazen fashion" and officers of the Ministry of Coal abused their positions and acted in "an arbitrary and illegal" manner, a special court today observed.
The court said that act of not scrutinising applications of companies or allotting coal blocks in a "clandestine manner" without explaining the reasons as to why these firms have been selected and why the others were not selected "amounted to an act of criminal mis-conduct by the public servants".
"This act also amounted to allowing misappropriation of country's natural resources by private firms in furtherance of the criminal conspiracy," special CBI judge Bharat Parashar said.
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The court made the remarks while refusing to accept CBI's closure report in a coal blocks allocation scam case in which it summoned as accused former Coal Secretary H C Gupta, the then Joint Secretary K S Kropha, and the then Director CA-I Section of Ministry of Coal K C Samaria.
The court also issued summons to Madhya Pradesh-based Kamal Sponge Steel and Power Limited (KSSPL), its Managing Director Pawan Kumar Ahluwalia and Chartered Accountant Amit Goyal asking them to appear before it on October 31.
They were summoned as accused for the offences including cheating, criminal conspiracy, criminal breach of trust by public servant and under the provisions of the Prevention of Corruption Act.
The court, in its order, said officers of Ministry of Coal (MOC) and the screening committee members were exercising a dominion over a valuable property i.E. The country's natural resources and they were duty bound to ensure that it does not stand allocated to unscrupulous persons.
"However for reasons best known to the MOC officers and the Screening Committee, the entire process of allocation of coal blocks was undertaken in such a brazen fashion that even before issuing letters of allotment of coal blocks, no care was taken to at least scrutinise the applications for their eligibility or completeness much less to verify particulars mentioned in the application," the court said.
