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CBI to close case against Kumar Mangalam Birla, PC Parakh

THE Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has decided to close the 10-month-old coal block allegation case filed against Aditya Birla Group Chairman Kumar Mangalam Birla and former coal secretary PC Parakh, agency director Ranjit Sinha told ET on Sunday.

"The case against Birla and Parakh is being closed as no criminality was found on anyone's part. Whatever decision was taken in this particular coal block allocation to Hindalco in 2005 was in national interest," Sinha said. He added that neither former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Birla nor Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik was questioned in the case as "there was no need" to do so.

ET had reported earlier that the CBI will be closing this case without questioning either Birla or Singh.

"CBI cannot question government policy. The then PM had the discretion to take a decision in the matter. Hence, the case will be closed," Sinha said.

"CBI cannot question government policy. The then PM had the discretion to take a decision in the matter. Hence, the case will be closed," Sinha said.

According to sources in CBI, when he was the PM, Manmohan Singh had offered to be questioned in the matter during a routine meeting with Sinha last year. "The CBI director had gone to meet the PM last year for a routine matter when Singh himself brought up the Birla case and said he was ready to be questioned at any time, leaving the CBI director embarrassed," a source in CBI said. Parakh has got a clean chit in the matter primarily because his move to overturn the decision of the standing committee and allocate a coal mine to Hindalco was "endorsed" by the PM, who had the discretion to do so, the source said.

CBI's reasoning to close the case now is in line with the defence offered by the Prime Minister Office (PMO) when the controversy had broken out post the CBI FIR lodged on October 15 last year. PMO under Singh had then issued a lengthy statement on October 19, 2013, rejecting any criminality in the controversial allocation of coal block to Hindalco and saying the PM had approved it on the basis of 'merits' of the case placed before him and deeming the same 'appropriate'.
 CBI had subsequently questioned Singh's Principal Secretary, TKA Nair, in the matter.

Source: The Economic Times