New Delhi: CBI has informed a special court that response of competent authority was still awaited on the issue of granting sanction to prosecute government servants allegedly involved in two separate cases lodged in coal blocks allocation scam.
The agency told Special CBI Judge Bharat Parashar that they have already sent the necessary report to the sanctioning authority in this regard.
"It has been submitted by senior public prosecutor that necessary report for considering according of sanction has already been sent to the competent authority but the response from competent authority is still awaited," the court said.
The court has now fixed the matter for May 29 for filing of further progress report by the CBI.
The two public servants against whom sanction is awaited are K S Kropha, the then Joint Secretary in Ministry of Coal and K C Samaria, the then director in Coal Allocation in the ministry.
CBI has not sought sanction for prosecution against the then Coal Secretary H C Gupta as he has retired.
The court had earlier refused to accept closure reports filed by CBI in separate cases lodged against two firms, JLD Yavatmal Energy Ltd and JAS Infrastructure and Power Ltd, now known as JAS Infrastructure Capital Pvt Ltd, and others.
In the case against JLD Yavatmal Energy Ltd, CBI had earlier filed a progress report of its probe in the matter allegedly involving Rajya Sabha MP Vijay Darda and others.
The court had on November 20 last year directed CBI to further investigate the matter after refusing to accept its closure report filed in the case in which an FIR was lodged against JLD Yavatmal Energy Ltd, its directors Vijay Darda, his son Devendra Darda, Rajendra Darda, Manoj Jayaswal, Anand Jayaswal and Abhishek Jayaswal and other unknown persons.
CBI had lodged the FIR in the case under sections 420 (cheating) and 120 B (criminal conspiracy) of IPC.
The agency had later filed a closure report, saying no undue benefit was given to M/s JLD Yavatmal Energy Ltd by the Coal Ministry in the allocation of coal blocks.
In the case involving JAS Infrastructure and Power Ltd, now called JAS Infrastructure Capital Pvt Ltd, the CBI had earlier filed a closure report in the matter in which it had lodged an FIR against Nagpur-based businessman Manoj Jayaswal, Abhishek Jayaswal, Anand Jayaswal and the firm for alleged irregularities in acquiring coal blocks.
The court had refused to accept the closure report saying that probe conducted by CBI was "incomplete" and nothing was clear in it.
On November 20 last year, the court had passed an order directing CBI to further probe the matter saying the conduct of former Coal Secretary and the two other government servants prima facie fell under the ambit of criminal misconduct.
The agency had lodged an FIR in the case on the allegation that the company had not disclosed to the Coal Ministry that it was already in possession of coal blocks.
However, during the investigation, CBI could not find any "prosecutable evidence" against the firm and others and had filed a closure report in the case.
