A Delhi court recently discharged former coal secretary HC Gupta and former civil servant KS Kropha in a coal scam case [CBI v Kohinoor Steel Pvt Ltd & Ors]. .Special Judge (PC Act ) Sanjay Bansal of the Rouse Avenue Courts noted that no demand for illegal gratification was made by either Gupta or Kropha and they cannot be singled out for the decisions taken by the screening committee tasked with the allocation of coal blocks. “If the prosecution wants to suggest that only A-3 and A-4 [Gupta and Kropha] were liable to make the recommendations and other members were not involved, then it must be said that it was the Screening Committee which had done that task. A-3 and A-4 cannot be singled out for making the recommendations,” the judge said. The Court stressed that there may have been lapses, shortcomings or erroneous decisions but they cannot be equated with criminal acts. “An improper execution of public duty is not an offence u/s 13(1)(d) of PC Act unless it is done for any reward. There is no such allegation that any reward was given to or demanded by A-3 and A-4,” it said. Further, the Court rejected the allegation that Gupta and Kropha misled the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO). .The case relates to the allocation of Mednirai Coal Block situated in Jharkhand to a company named Kohinoor Steel Private Limited (KSPL). Gupta was the coal secretary when the allocation was made while Kropha was posted as the joint secretary in the ministry. The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) had contended that Gupta and Kropha deliberately overlooked the apparent discrepancies and change in the application format to favour KSPL and recommended Mednirai Coal Block. It was argued that the two civil servants conspired with KSPL, its director Vijay Bothra and General Manager Rakesh Khare to cheat the Ministry of Steel (MoS), Ministry of Coal (MoC) and the State of Jharkhand by furnishing false information/documents. The prosecution demanded that they be prosecuted for offences under Sections 120B (criminal conspiracy) read with 420 (cheating) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and Sections 13(2) read with 13(1)(d) (criminal misconduct) of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988..After considering the case, the Court ruled that the coal ministry was not supposed to verify the informations/data supplied by the applicant companies because this exercise was mandated for administrative ministries and the concerned State governments. “The MoC did not have the expertise to analyse the data relating to steel sector. The MoS which had the expertise too could not detect the shortcomings or false claims. Thus, it is apparent that A-3 & A-4 cannot be held responsible for non- verification of data,” the Court said. It, therefore, discharged Gupta and Kropha. .However, the Court framed charges of cheating against the KSPL and its two officials for cheating and criminal conspiracy. “Considered so, it is held that prima facie case for framing charge for the offence punishable u/s 120-B r/w 420 IPC is made out against A-1, A-2 and A-5. Further prima facie case for framing charge for the substantive offence punishable u/s 420 IPC is made against A-1, A-2 and A-5,” the Court ordered. .Advocate Rahul Tyagi argued the case for HC Gupta and KS Kropha. Advocate Dhruv Kamra appeared for Rakesh Khare. Advocate Shri Singh appeared for Vijay Bothra. KSPL was represented through advocate Rupali Francesca Samuel. CBI was represented through advocate Sanjay Kumar. .[Read Judgment]
