NEW DELHI: Former Jharkhand CM
Madhu Koda and ex-coal secretary HC Gupta were sentenced to three years in jail by special court in a coal scam case after hearing argument on quantum of punishment on Saturday.
A special court on Wednesday had pronounced Koda, Gupta and three others guilty of criminal conspiracy and corruption in the coal scam case.
Besides the jail term, the special court also imposed a fine of Rs 25 lakh on Koda and Rs one lakh on Gupta.
Former Jharkhand chief secretary AK Basu and Vijay Joshi, a close aide of the then chief minister, were also awarded jail term of three years for indulging in corrupt practices and hatching criminal conspiracy in allocation of Rajhara North coal block in Jharkhand to a Kolkata-based private company,
Vini Iron and Steel Udyog Ltd (VISUL).
Special judge Bharat Parashar convicted the private firm and imposed a fine of Rs 50 lakh on it.
The convicts including Koda, however, were granted statutory bail for a period of two months to enable them to file appeals in the Delhi High Court challenging the conviction and the jail term.
The court, however, acquitted four persons - VISUL's Director Vaibhav Tulsyan and two public servants
Basant Kumar Bhattacharya and Bipin Bihari Singh and chartered accountant Navin Kumar Tulsyan - of all charges.
All were earlier summoned as accused after the court took cognisance of alleged offences under Sections 120-B (criminal conspiracy) read with 420 (cheating) and 409 (criminal breach of trust by public servants) of IPC and under provisions of Prevention of Corruption Act.
The CBI alleged that the firm had applied for allocation of Rajhara North coal block on January 8, 2007.
It said although the Jharkhand government and the steel ministry did not recommend the VISUL's case for coal block allocation, the 36th Screening Committee recommended the block to the accused firm.
The CBI said that Gupta, who was chairman of the screening committee, had allegedly concealed facts from then Prime Minister
Manmohan Singh, who then headed the coal ministry too, that Jharkhand had not recommended VISUL for allocation of a coal block.
Koda, Basu and two accused public servants conspired to favour VISUL in the coal block allocation, the agency had alleged.
The accused have refuted the allegations levelled against them.
(With PTI inputs)
