Coal Scam: Manmohan Singh, Kumar Mangalam Birla, Parakh summoned as accused by Special Court

Moneylife Digital Team 11 March 2015

A Special Court had summoned former PM Singh, along with Kumar Mangalam Birla and former coal secretary Parakh in a case related with allocation of a coal block to Hindalco in Orissa

A Special Court had summoned former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, industrialist Kumar Mangalam Birla, former Coal Secretary PC Parakh and three others as accused in the a case related with the coal scam.

While hearing a revised closure report in the coal allocation scam filed by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), the Special Court directed Singh, Birla, Parakh and other three to appear before it on 8th April. The Court had summoned them for offences of criminal conspiracy, breach of trust and under provisions of Prevention of Corruption Act.

Last month, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Thursday submitted before a Delhi court the final report on the investigation into a coal block allocation scam case in which the Aditya Birla Group chairman and Parakh figure as accused.

At that time Court had also directed CBI to examine the then Coal Minister (former PM Manmohan Singh) on the various aspects of the allocation of a coal block to Hindalco in Orissa. Singh was holding the additional charge of the Coal Ministry at that time.

Hindalco is a unit of Aditya Birla Group. Later, CBI had recorded Singh’s statement.

The Judge had also ordered examination of BVR Subramanyam, then Private Secretary to the then Prime Minister, and re-examination of TKA Nair, then Principal Secretary in the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) in connection with the case.

While ordering examination of the former Prime Minister and the two officials, the Judge had observed that "a concerted effort was being made to manipulate the entire Government machinery so as to protect the interest of Hindalco.’’

The investigating agency had submitted its report along with the statement of prosecution witness S Jayaraman, former Chairman-cum-Managing Director of Neyveli Lignite Corp Ltd, in a sealed cover.

The investigating officer of the case also moved an application seeking to place on record certain other records and statements of witnesses which, he had stated, earlier could not be “inadvertently” placed on record along with the initial closure report.

Later, Additional Sessions Judge Bharat Parashar posted the report to 11th March for consideration. The probe agency had initially urged the court to close the case. But the court had rejected it. It had asked CBI to further investigate it.

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