Court orders framing charges in coal block case against Jindal

A court here on Friday ordered the framing of charges in a coal block case involving the Jindal Group.

Special Judge Bharat Parashar ordered that charges dealing with criminal conspiracy, cheating and various provisions of the Prevention of Corruption Act against former parliamentarian, industrialist and senior congress leader Naveen Jindal, former union minister of state for coal Dasari Narayan Rao and former Jharkhand chief minister Madhu Koda and others.

The court was hearing a case related to the allocation of Jharkhand's Amarkonda Murgadangal coal block to Jindal Steel and Gagan Sponge.

The probe agency said there was sufficient evidence to frame charges against the accused in a case related to the allocation of Amarkonda Murgadangal coal block to Jindal Steel and Gagan Sponge.

However, Jindal, Rao, Koda and others have denied the allegations and sought being discharged from the case.

The Central Bureau of Investigation in April last year filed a chargesheet against Jindal, Koda, Rao, former coal secretary H.C. Gupta with six other individuals.

The six others include New Delhi Exim director Suresh Singhal, Jindal Realty director Rajeev Jain, Gagan Sponge directors Girish Kumar Juneja and R.K. Saraf, Sowbhagya Media's managing director K. Ramakrishna and chartered accountant Gyan Swaroop Garg.

Five private companies -- four based in Delhi and one in Hyderabad -- have also been named in the chargesheet.

The companies are Jindal Steel and Power ltd., Gagan Sponge Iron Pvt. ltd., Jindal Reality Pvt. ltd., New Delhi Exim Pvt. ltd. and Sowbhagya Media ltd.