New Delhi, March 27 – A special CBI court on Friday acquitted former MP Vijay Darda, his son Devendra Darda, and former coal secretary HC Gupta in a case related to alleged irregularities in the allocation of the Bander coal block in Maharashtra.
The court also acquitted M/s AMR Iron and Steel Private Limited, Manoj Kumar Jayaswal, Santosh Bagrodia, and LS Janoti. This marked the closure of the oldest pending coal block allocation case, registered on March 27, 2014.
The verdict stated that the evidence presented by the CBI was "insufficient to conclusively establish any of the essential ingredients, such as deception, inducement, dishonest intention, or wrongful gain, related to the alleged offense of cheating under Section 420 of the IPC."
The court dismissed the charges of criminal conspiracy against all the accused, stating that the prosecution's case was based solely on speculation and conjecture without any direct or indirect evidence.
The verdict also noted that the decision to allocate the Bander Coal Block to AMR (for its 0.3 MTPA capacity) jointly with M/s Century Textiles & Industries Ltd and M/s JK Cement Ltd was a policy decision, made in accordance with the instructions of the 7th Energy Coordination Committee (ECC) and the PMO.
The verdict stated that the Screening Committee recommended the allocation of Bander Coal Block to AMR, citing due deliberations and information provided by the applicants and feedback received from State Governments and the Ministry of Steel.
The verdict further stated that the decision to allocate the coal block did not lack "public interest," especially since there was no allegation of quid pro quo.
The CBI alleged that M/s AMR Iron & Steel Pvt Ltd, represented by Manoj Jayaswal, had fraudulently obtained the Bander coal block by misrepresenting its financial strength and concealing previous coal block allocations.
The case heavily relied on the claim that Vijay Darda used his position as a Member of Parliament to influence the PMO through recommendation letters.
In exchange for this alleged influence, the CBI claimed that Rs 24.60 crore was routed from Jayaswal’s Abhijeet Group to a company owned by the Dardas (Asera Banka Power Ltd) under the guise of high-premium share purchases.
The verdict mentioned former coal secretary HC Gupta, a co-accused, and stated that he had been honorably acquitted due to a lack of evidence for the alleged charges.
The verdict addressed the role of former lawmaker Vijay Darda, stating that he routinely wrote letters to the PMO in his capacity as an MP for the development of his constituency in Maharashtra. The verdict concluded that these letters were never considered for the allocation.
The verdict stated that once it was established that Vijay Darda had no role to play in the allocation of the coal block, the prosecution's case regarding payment of illegal gratification of Rs 24.60 crore collapsed.
The verdict further stated that in the absence of any role attributable to the MP in granting the coal block, there was neither any occasion nor any plausible motive for AMR to pay any illegal gratification to him.
The verdict stated that there was no evidence, either oral or documentary, to demonstrate that the said transactions were undertaken pursuant to any prior demand, agreement, or purpose of influencing the allocation of the coal block.
The verdict stated that there was no evidence on record to demonstrate that there was any inducement to the Screening Committee in recommending the allocation of the coal block to AMR, adding that the Ministry of Coal and the PMO were aware of prior allocation of coal blocks to the group companies of AMR.
While there was no allegation of quid pro quo against the public servant, the same charge against the lawmaker "remained unsubstantiated."
The prosecution has failed to substantiate the allegations for said offense against the accused… In view thereof, A-1 to A-4 are acquitted for the offense of cheating under Section 420 IPC,” it said.
The offense of illegal gratification against the MP also remained unproved as "the prosecution miserably failed to establish any live or proximate nexus between the alleged financial transactions of Rs 24.6 crore and the alleged charge of illegal gratification."
Over 25 corruption cases filed by the CBI are currently pending before two special courts set up to try cases arising out of the alleged coal scam whereas 27 have been disposed of so far.
On January 16, 2025, the ED informed the top court that 45 complaints, including supplementary ones, were pending under the PMLA.
The top court in 2014 quashed 214 coal blocks allocated by the Centre between 1993 and 2010 after taking note of two PILs and ordered a trial by a special CBI judge.