Coal scam: Court to consider CBI's supplementary report on May 8

New Delhi: A special court would consider next week the supplementary final report filed by CBI in a coal blocks allocation scam case allegedly involving Vikash Metal and Power Limited (VMPL) and others.

Special CBI Judge Bharat Parashar would take up on May 8 the final report filed by the agency on April 7 in pursuance to court's last October order refusing to accept the closure report and directing it to further probe the case.

The case pertains to alleged irregularities in allocation of Moira and Madhujore (North and South) coal blocks in West Bengal to VMPL.

The CBI on March 10 had informed the court that it had received the approval of competent authority on its final report of further probe into the case.

The court had directed CBI to expeditiously submit the final report on its further probe into the case allegedly involving VMPL and its officials in which they are accused of making false claims relating to land allocation to get undue advantage in the coal block allocation.

The FIR in the case was registered in September 2012. CBI, however, had later filed a closure report saying charges against VMPL or its directors or even against public servants could not be substantiated during its probe.

The court, in its October 15 last year's order, had noted that it would have taken cognisance of offences of criminal conspiracy and cheating against the firm and its directors or others involved, but the alleged role of officers of the Coal Ministry and other public servants in the entire process needed to be further carried out.

The FIR was registered against VMPL, its directors, including Vimal Patni, Vikash Patni and Anand Patni, and Anand Mallick who was the authorised signatory for the company.

They were booked for alleged offences under sections 120B (criminal conspiracy) and 420 (cheating) of the IPC.

CBI, in its FIR, had said that VMPL had wrongly claimed it had been allocated 300 acres of land in Begusarai in Bihar by the Bihar Area Development Authority.

The agency had found that the land was de-allocated and directors of the firm had failed to inform the screening committee members about it, it had said.