Coal news and updates

The CBI has questioned some officials of the Aditya Birla group as part of its investigation into the controversial case lodged by it against leading industrialist Kumar Mangalam Birla over two months ago. Former coal secretary P C Parakh will be summoned next month, a top CBI official said on condition of anonymity.

 

The official said Birla will also be summoned for questioning by the CBI "if the need arises." Rejecting speculation that the CBI would be closing the case following widespread criticism by ministers of the CBI's FIR, the official said "due process" will have to be followed. All those named accused in the matter would be questioned and a conclusion would be reached based on the available evidence.

 

Birla, Parakh and unidentified officials of Hindalco are mentioned as accused in the FIR which CBI had lodged on October 15. The crux of the FIR is the allegation that an undue favour was extended to Hindalco which was allocated a coal mine that was earlier meant exclusively for Neyveli Lignite, a public sector compay. "The company's officials were asked about the circumstances in which Hindalco got the coal mine after being denied it earlier," an official said. An Aditya Birla group spokesperson said the company was "extending full co-operation" to the CBI and termed the ongoing investigation as part of the "the process". Parakh, when contacted by ET, said he had "not yet" received any summons from CBI to appear for questioning.

 

Parakh had last month written to the CBI director asking for a copy of all documents that the CBI had based their FIR upon, saying he would need the documents to refresh his memory about the case dating back to 2005.

 

"I have not heard from the CBI on my letter either," Parakh said. A CBI official clarified to ET that Parakh can get the documents only after charges are filed, if that happens. CBI is supposed to file a status report in the coal scam cases before the Supreme Court on January 9, which is monitoring the coal probe.

 

At a CBI conference last month, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Finance Minister P Chidambaram had strongly critiqued the CBI in light of the Hindalco FIR, saying taking calls on policy was not the CBI's business and said it was not proper to book government officials for corruption without establishing any quid pro quo. CBI had lodged the case under Section 13 (1) (d) of the Prevention of Corruption Act which says granting undue favours is a crime even in the absence of a quid pro quo. A CBI official said the government has brought an amendment bill to parliament to remove the provision, but the bill is yet to be passed. In any event, it cannot apply retrospectively to the Hindalco case. 

 

Source: ET