Rouse Avenue Court gave its verdict in the famous coal block allocation case that has been going on for more than a decade. This includes former MP Vijay Darda, his son Devendra Darda, former Coal Secretary H.C. All the accused including Gupta were acquitted. The court said that sufficient evidence was not found to prove the allegations.
Court said- CBI could not present evidence
CBI Special Judge Sunena Sharma said in her order that the prosecution failed to prove the allegations of fraud, criminal conspiracy or misuse of position. The court also acquitted businessman Manoj Kumar Jaiswal and company AMR Iron and Steel Private Limited in this case.
The matter is related to the allocation of Bandar coal block of Maharashtra.
This case was related to the allocation of Bandar coal block in Maharashtra. The CBI had alleged that AMR Iron and Steel Private Limited had given wrong information while applying to the Coal Ministry to get the allocation of the coal block. It was also alleged that Vijay Darda, who was a Rajya Sabha MP at that time, had written recommendation letters in favor of the company to the Prime Minister’s Office.
However, during the hearing in the court, no concrete evidence came to the fore in support of these allegations. The court said that most of the information related to the application was already available with the concerned authorities and no witness confirmed that any kind of pressure, allurement or deception was used.
Allegations regarding alleged transaction of Rs 24.6 crore could not be made – Court
Rouse Avenue Court also said that the allegations of alleged transaction of Rs 24.6 crore could not be proved. The court did not find any evidence to prove that this money had any connection with the coal block allocation or the letters written by Vijay Darda. The court clearly said that it was not proved that Darda’s letters had any influence on the allotment process. On this basis, the court acquitted all the accused, giving them the benefit of doubt.
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