CBI’s u-turn; says enough evidence against Birla, others in coal block case

New Delhi, Nov 10 :

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) Monday told a court hearing the coal block allocation case that there is enough evidence against the accused to take cognisance of offence.

Special public prosecutor (SPP) R.S. Cheema told Special CBI Judge Bharat Parashar that the court can take cognisance on the closure report filed by it on Oct 21 as there was prima facie “evidence against the accused to show their involvement”.

The court after hearing the submissions posted the matter for Nov 25 for consideration of the agency’s closure report.

The CBI also placed on record a compilation of relevant documents relating to the case.

The CBI last month had filed a revised closure report in a coal block allocation case involving industrialist Kumar Mangalam Birla and others. The court, in earlier hearing, had sought clarifications from the investigating agency whether an element of criminality was involved while allocating the coal blocks to the Birla-promoted Hindalco.

The CBI had booked Birla, former coal secretary P.C. Parakh and others, on charges of criminal conspiracy and corruption in the allocation of coal blocks in October 2013. But it filed a closure report in the case Aug 28, saying: “The evidence collected during investigations did not substantiate the allegations levelled against the persons named in the FIR (first information report).”

The court had earlier also sought to know on what basis CBI had drawn such a conclusion to close the case and what kind of investigation it had conducted.

(IANS)