TIA NEWS /
A special court in Delhi today ordered framing of charges against industrialist Naveen Jindal, former Minister of State for Coal Dasari Narayan Rao and 13 others for criminal conspiracy, cheating and other offences in a coal block allocation scam case. The court, however, said charges would be formally framed against the accused later on.
Apart from Jindal and Rao, the court also ordered to put on trial ex-Jharkhand Chief Minister Madhu Koda, former Coal Secretary H C Gupta and 11 others. They were chargesheeted by CBI in the case pertaining to alleged irregularities in allocation of the Amarkonda Murgadangal coal block to Jindal Steel and Power Limited (JSPL) and Gagan Sponge Iron Private Ltd (GSIPL) in 2008. Besides them, five firms are also accused in the case.
Meanwhile, the court issued notice to CBI and 14 accused on a plea by Suresh Singhal for pardon and turning approver in the case. He filed the application on April 21, seeking to make a disclosure statement. The court fixed May 11 for hearing submissions of CBI and the accused on Singhal’s plea.