Who has been convicted in the coal block allocation scam?
Synopsis
Key Takeaways
New Delhi, Jan 13 (NationPress) A CBI court based in Delhi has found guilty and sentenced a private firm, M/s SKS Ispat & Power Ltd, along with its director Deepak Gupta and two authorized signatories in relation to a coal block allocation fraud, according to an official announcement made on Tuesday.
This incident marks the 20th conviction in coal block allocation cases that have come under the scrutiny of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). The judgment was issued on Monday, January 12, as stated in the announcement.
The court has imposed a sentence of three years of rigorous imprisonment (RI) on Deepak Gupta along with a monetary penalty of Rs 10 lakh.
Satya Narain Dwivedi, an authorized signatory of the firm, received a sentence of two years of RI and a fine of Rs 20,000, while Amrit Singh, another authorized signatory, was sentenced to one year of RI with a Rs 10,000 fine.
The court has also levied a fine of Rs 50 lakh against the accused firm, M/s SKS Ispat & Power Ltd.
The CBI initiated the case on August 4, 2014, alleging that the accused firm and its officials had made false and misleading claims in their applications and feedback forms regarding financial net worth, production capacity, land ownership, and environmental clearances in order to wrongfully obtain the Rawanwara North Coal Block.
After a year-long investigation, the CBI submitted a charge sheet on August 31, 2016, against M/s SKS Ispat Ltd (currently known as M/s SKS Ispat & Power Ltd) through its director and authorized signatories.
Upon completion of the trial, the court has pronounced convictions and sentences for all involved parties.
The CBI is actively engaged in investigating fraud cases, leading to the conviction of both public officials and private individuals, with penalties that include imprisonment and substantial fines.