Coalgate continues to haunt former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. A Special Court on Tuesday slammed the CBI for not questioning Singh though the Coal Ministry was directly under him from 2005 to 2009. During the grilling by Special Judge Bharat Parashar, the CBI’s Investigative Officer revealed that “the Coal Minister (Prime Minister) was not permitted to be examined”.
The court’s observations came after CBI submitted that though initially it felt Singh’s examination was necessary later it found that it was not required. “PMO officials were examined. The then Minister for Coal was not examined in the light of the statement of PMO officials,” the IO said, adding, “It was found that his statement was not necessary”.
“Don’t you think examination of the then Coal Minister was necessary in the matterIJ Didn’t you feel the need to examine himIJ Don’t you think his statement was necessary to present a clear pictureIJ” Special Judge Parashar asked the IO.
The court was hearing a case in which an FIR was lodged against industrialist Kumar Mangalam Birla, ex-Coal Secretary PC Parakh and others relating to allocation of Talabira-II &III coal blocks in Odisha in 2005 to Hindalco. The CBI had later filed a closure report in the case.
Former Prime Minister Singh was holding the portfolio of Coal Ministry when Birla’s firm Hindalco was allocated coal blocks in Odisha's Talabira-II & III in 2005. During the hearing, the IO also told the court that during the probe, the then PMO officials, TKA Nair and Javed Usmani, were examined by the agency in connection with the case.
During the hearing, the court directed the CBI to file the case diary. Senior Public Prosecutor VK Sharma said that the agency be allowed to file these documents in a sealed cover.
“...I deem it appropriate that let the case diary files and crime files of the present case be summoned and as per the request of Senior PP, let it be produced in a sealed cover,” the judge said and posted the matter for further proceedings on November 27.
The CBI’s move to close this high profile case involving Birla was rejected by the court. Recently, the Supreme Court-appointed Special Public Prosecutor RS Cheema had rejected the CBI's version that there was not sufficient evidence to proceed in this case.
Meanwhile, CBI Director Ranjit Sinha told the media that they would comply with the court order. Sinha, who had already been axed by the Supreme Court in 2G cases, said: “We will comply with the court order to provide case diary file and crime file related to probe in the Talabira coal block allocation to Hindalco.”