Coal scam: Cant file final report, CBI tells court nil

Coal scam: Cant file final report, CBI tells court

by IBNS 22 Sep 2014, 12:10 pm

New Delhi, Sept 22 (IBNS): The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Monday told a special court hearing coal block allocation cases, that it is unable to file final report in the case as it has been barred by Supreme Court from doing so.

Special Public Prosecutor R S Cheema told Special CBI Judge Bharat Parashar that the agency was ready with its supplementary final report in the case, but the top court restrained it from doing so. 

 
"We cannot file supplementary final report for the time being as there is an embargo of the Supreme Court. So it would not be appropriate to file it," Cheema said. 
 
On being asked by the court if there was a bar on filing supplementary reports also, the prosecutor said the apex court had made an oral observation that the agency should not file any charge sheet or closure report in the coal scam cases until further orders. 
 
The Supreme Court had on September 19 asked the CBI not to take any final decision on any case arising out of multi-crore coal scam after serious allegations were leveled against its Director Ranjit Sinha for protecting some accused. 
 
Sinha had been accused by lawyer-activist Prashant Bhushan that he met top Reliance officials at his residence. 
 
The case was being separately heard in the top court on Monday
 
On the other hand, while hearing another case regarding “Coal-gate” scam, the central agency sought time to file its reply in the same court. 
 
The court was hearing a petition in respect to the closure report filed by CBI against Kumar Mangalam Birla in coal block allocation. 
 
CBI had on August 28 filed a closure report in the case. 
 
On September 12, the court had asked CBI as to what was the hurry in closing the case in which FIR was registered against Birla, Parakh and others. 
 
The FIR against Birla, Parakh and others was registered in October last year by CBI which had alleged that Parakh had reversed his decision to reject coal block allocation to Hindalco within months "without any valid basis or change in circumstances" and shown "undue favours". 
 
SSP Cheema on Monday told the judge that the DIG and SP concerned were not available and therefore, he needed some more time to address the arguments in the matter. 
 
The court allowed the submission of Cheema and posted the matter for hearing on October 13.