SC directs CBI to conclude probe in coal block allocation cases by December

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Monday expressed unhappiness over the pace of probe conducted by CBI into the coal block allocation scam cases and asked the agency to conclude these investigations by December end.

"The CBI should conclude the investigations as early as possible and in any case, it has to conclude these investigations by December 31," a bench comprising Justices Madan B Lokur, Kurian Joseph and A K Sikri said.

It also asked senior advocate Amrendra Sharan, appearing for CBI, to file a status report on the progress of probe into these cases in the first week of January next year.

"Some cases have been registered in the second half of 2015," the counsel said, indicating that it may not be possible to conclude probe in all the cases by the year end.

The CBI is probing around 250 coal block allocations made by various regimes during 1993 to 2009.