The CBI has booked Adani Enterprises and former officials of National Cooperative Consumer Forum (NCCF) in a case of cheating, criminal conspiracy and graft in supply of imported coal to Andhra Pradesh Power Generation Corporation (APGENCO) in 2010.

Adani Enterprises is alleged to have got undue favours in the supply contract.

APGENCO had floated a limited tender enquiry for the supply of six lakh MTs of imported coal from sea ports to Narla Tata Rao Thermal Power Plant in Vijaywada and Rayalaseema Thermal Power Plant (RTPP) in Kadapa on June 29, 2010, according to the FIR.

The tender enquiry was forwarded to seven PSUs including National Co-cooperative Consumer Federation India Ltd (NCCF), a multi-State cooperative under Union Consumer Affairs Ministry having 78 per cent Government stake.

Besides, Adani Enterprises, the CBI booked then NCCF chairman Virender Singh, then Managing Director of NCCF GP Gupta and its senior adviser SC Singhal for allegedly favouring the Ahmedabad-based company in the tender and violation of guidelines.

The CBI alleged that acts of “omission and commission” by the NCCF officers disclose that they acted in “a manner as unbecoming of public servants” and conspired with the company.

The FIR said the officers “committed irregularities by the way of manipulation in the selection of the bidders, thereby giving undue favour to Adani Enterprises Ltd in award of work for supply of imported coal to APGENCO despite its disqualification.

Giving details of alleged criminal conspiracy and corruption, the CBI alleged that NCCF, Hyderabad unit which had received the APGENCO tender enquiry on June 29, 2010 had forwarded it to its headquarters in Delhi to Singhal.

The same day the head office selected a single party — Maharishi Brothers Coal Limited (MBCL) — to transport the coal at a margin of 2.25 per cent instead of initiating the process for floating an open tender to call for bids from the competitive bidders citing lack of time as the deadline was July 7, according to the FIR.

Six days later on July 7, APGENCO informed NCCF, Hyderabad that the date of tender has been extended to July 12 following which allocation to MBCL was cancelled and open tender was floated.

Six bidders Adani Enterprises, MBCL, Vyom Trade Links, Swarana Projects Gupta Coal India, and Kyori Oremin responded to NCCF Tender on July 10, 2010 whose details and bids were tabulated and sent to the headquarters by Hyderabad unit on the same day, it said.

Gupta Coal had quoted 11.3 per cent NCCF margin while MBCL had kept it at 2.25 per cent but remaining companies had not quoted any NCCF margin, it said.

“Instead of cancelling the bid of Adani Enterprises Ltd. Senior management of NCCF conveyed the offer margin of NCCF to the company through one of its representatives Munish Sehgal who was sitting in the NCCF head office on July 10, 2010 in the evening...,” the FIR alleged.

Subsequently, Adani Enterprises Ltd on the same day informed NCCF that they agree to pay minimum margin charge of 2.25 per cent to NCCF.