A Special Court Judge here, Bharat Parashar, hearing the case of allocation of the Talabira coal block in Odisha involving industrialist Kumar Mangalam Birla and others on Thursday set December 12 to consider the closure report filed by the CBI in the case.
The CBI booked Birla, former Coal Secretary PC Parakh and others on the charges of criminal conspiracy and corruption in the allocation of coal blocks in October 2013.
But it filed a closure report in the case on August 28, saying: “The evidence collected during investigations did not substantiate the allegations levelled against the people named in the FIR (first information report).”
The court had earlier sought to know on what basis the CBI drew its conclusion to close the case and what kind of investigation it has conducted.
The court also sought clarifications from the CBI whether an element of criminality was involved in allocating the coal blocks to the Birla-promoted Hindalco.
Special Public Prosecutor RS Cheema, in the last hearing, had told the court that it can take cognizance of the CBI’s closure report filed on October 21 as there was no prima facie “evidence against the accused to show their involvement”.
Meanwhile, the CBI submitted the case diary and crime file in a sealed cover in the court.