Coal scam: Court grants bail to former Coal Secy, others

New Delhi: Former Coal Secretary H C Gupta and four others, including two senior public servants, were Thursday granted bail by a special court in a coal scam case relating to alleged irregularities in allocation of Moira and Madhujore (North and South) coal blocks in West Bengal.

Besides Gupta, special CBI judge Bharat Parashar granted bail to public servants K S Kropha and K C Samria and Vikash Metal and Power Ltd's (VMPL) Managing Director Vikash Patni and its authorised signatory Anand Mallick in the case.

The accused, who appeared before the court in pursuance to summons issued against them, were granted bail on a personal bond of Rs one lakh each with one surety of the like amount.

The court has fixed the matter for April 22 for scrutiny of documents.

It had summoned the accused after taking cognisance of the alleged offences under sections, including 120-B (criminal conspiracy), 420 (cheating) of IPC, and under the provisions of Prevention of Corruption Act.

The case pertains to alleged irregularities in allocation of Moira and Madhujore (North and South) coal blocks to VMPL.

The case involved VMPL and its officials in which they were accused of making false claims relating to land allocation to allegedly get undue advantage in coal block allocation. The FIR in the case was registered in September 2012.