Coal scam: CBI told to investigate Darda case further

Refusing to accept the closure report filed by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), a special Delhi court directed the investigation agency to further investigate an alleged scam in coal blocks allocation involving Congress Rajya Sabha member of Parliament Vijay Darda on Thursday.

Special CBI Judge Bharat Parashar asked the CBI to file a progress report of its probe on December 19.

"Darda had misrepresented facts in various letters written to the then-PM (Manmohan Singh), who was holding the coal ministry portfolio, seeking his help to get allotment of Fatehpur (East) coal block in Chhattisgarh in favour of JLD Yavatmal Energy Private Limited," the court said.

Declining to accept the CBI's closure report filed in the case, in which it had lodged a first information report against Darda, who was also a director of JLD, and others, the court said that prima facie offence of cheating was committed by private parties in furtherance of conspiracy hatched between them and the public servants.

"As regard Vijay Darda, who was chairman of Lokmat Group, it has come on record that he wrote a number of letters to the Prime Minister seeking allotment of Fatehpur (East) coal block in favour of M/s JLD," the court added.

Darda at that time was a sitting member of Rajya Sabha and he too had specifically claimed in his letter dated June 18, 2007, and August 6, 2007, addressed to the then-Prime Minister that JLD was promoted, managed and controlled by Lokmat Group and IDFC.

Thus once again, there was a clear misrepresentation at different forums by Vijay Darda on behalf of JLD to claim allotment of yet another coal block," the court said in its 41-page order.