Coal scam case: Former coal secretary HC Gupta sentenced to 3-year imprisonment
New Delhi, Dec 5 : A Delhi court Wednesday sentenced former coal secretary H C Gupta to 3-year imprisonment in a coal block allocation scam case which happened during the previous UPA regime at the Centre.
Two other bureaucrats -- K S Kropha and K C Samria -- were also awarded 3-year of jail term. The three bureaucrats were also fined Rs 50,000 each.
Special Judge Bharat Prasar sentenced other convicted persons Vikas Patni, MD of Vikash Metals and Power Limited (VMPL), and its authorised signatory Anand Mallick to 4 years jail term.
The court also imposed a fine of Rs 25 lakh on Patni and Rs 2 lakh on Mallick. A fine of Rs 1 lakh was imposed on the company.
The case pertains to irregularities in the allocation of Moira and Madhujore (North and South) coal blocks in West Bengal to VMPL. In September 2012, the CBI registered an FIR in the case.
The CBI had sought a maximum of seven years imprisonment for the five convicted persons and imposition of heavy fine on the private firm.
The offences for which they had been convicted entail a minimum punishment of one year in jail, going up to a maximum of seven years.
The court had on November 30 convicted Gupta, former joint secretary in Ministry of Coal Kropha and the then director (CA-I) in the ministry Samria.
It had also convicted the firm, Patni and Mallick.
Gupta, who was the Coal Secretary from December 31, 2005 to November 2008, has already been convicted before this in two other cases of coal block allocation in which he had been sentenced to jail for two and three years respectively. He is out on bail in both the cases.
Kropha, who was then the Joint Secretary, Ministry of coal, retired in December 2017 as the Chief Secretary of Meghalaya. He has also been convicted and sentenced to two years in another coal block allocation scam and has been on bail.
Samria then held the rank of Director in the Ministry of coal and is Joint Secretary in Ministry of Minority Affairs. He has already been convicted and sentenced to two years jail term in another case and was out on bail.
All the convicted persons were taken into judicial custody after pronouncement of the order on the direction of the court.
All have been held guilty for the offences under Prevention of Corruption Act and IPC, including cheating, criminal conspiracy and criminal misconduct.
Gupta has been accused in 12 cases of alleged irregularities in coal block allocation scam, prosecutors had said.
The CBI has filed charge sheets in connection with alleged irregularities in 40 cases of coal block allocations during the UPA-1 and UPA-2 regime.
On July 25, 2014, the Supreme Court had approved appointment of Additional Sessions Judge Parashar as special judge to exclusively deal with all coal scam cases.
Till now the special court has decided six such cases.
In the present case, the court had on August 19, 2016 framed charges, including cheating and criminal conspiracy against Gupta, the two public servants, the firm and its two officials. They all had pleaded not guilty and claimed trial. All the accused were out on bail.
The other two coal scam cases in which Gupta was earlier convicted related to Kamal Sponge Steel and Power Ltd (KSSPL) and Vini Iron and Steel Udyog Ltd(VISUL). Kropha and Samria were also convicted in KSSPL case.
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No more street vending on B’luru’s main roads, as govt plans to bring new policy for street hawkers
Bengaluru: Deputy Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar on Friday said that the state government has decided to formulate a new policy for footpaths in Bengaluru, under which street vending will not be allowed on main roads and sub-main roads.
Addressing the media after a budget preparation meeting and executive meeting of GBA corporations at Vidhana Soudha, Shivakumar said discussions were held with MLAs from the GBA region regarding the corporations’ budgets and key civic issues.
Leader of Opposition R. Ashok also participated in the meeting and shared his views. Officials from multiple departments, including police, BESCOM, BMRCL, BWSSB and BDA, along with ministers and legislators, were present.
He stated that all five municipalities have prepared their individual budgets, while MLAs have submitted their demands, including calls for ward-wise grants.
“We have decided to bring a new policy for footpaths. Citizens are struggling to walk as footpaths are encroached upon by street vendors,” Shivakumar said.
Highlighting the need to balance livelihoods and public convenience, he added that “a separate space will be provided for street vendors, and specific roads will be designated for their business,” ensuring that pedestrians can use footpaths without obstruction. He noted that there was unanimous agreement among MLAs on this approach.
Issuing a warning to vendors, Shivakumar said that authorities will act against those violating the rules. “If vendors operate during the day and leave their carts on the roadside at night, authorities will clear them. People should be aware of this,” he said.
Providing data on street vendors, he said that around 60,000 vendors have registered so far, of which 30,000 have applied for vehicles, and a tender has already been floated.
“Only those with street vendor identity cards will be allowed to do business. Those without ID cards will not be permitted to operate on the streets,” he added.
