New Delhi: A special court on Friday asked the CBI as to what was the “hurry” in filing a closure report in the coal blocks allocation case in which it had earlier lodged an FIR against top industrialist Kumar Mangalam Birla and others.
The court told the premier investigating agency that original minutes of screening committee meetings, which dealt with Birla-owned Hindalco’s application were missing.
The CBI had filed the case against Birla and former coal secretary PC Parakh last year in relation to a coal block allocated in 2005 to Hindalco Industries (HALC.NS), part of the USD 40 billion Aditya Birla Group led by Kumar Mangalam Birla.
India’s federal auditor had alleged that the government’s allocation of coal blocks may have cost the exchequer revenues of about USD 33 billion, although industry watchers and the previous government have cast doubts on the figure.
Though the CBI has dropped the name of Birla, the Supreme Court of India this week ruled that allocations of coal blocks since 1993 were illegal. That would include blocks awarded to firms including Hindalco and Jindal Steel and Power Ltd. The court will hold a further hearing on Monday, after which it will decide whether to cancel the allocations or impose some sort of penalty.
Bureau Report Iraq and s
Leave a Reply