New Delhi: CBI on Monday informed a special court that they have received approval of the competent authority on its final report of further investigation in a coal blocks allocation scam case allegedly involving Vikash Metal and Power Limited (VMPL) and others. After CBI prosecutor told the court that investigation officer (IO) would file the final report in the case within 10 days, Special CBI Judge Bharat Parashar asked the agency to file the progress report on its probe on April 7.

"Senior public prosecutor submits that the final approval of competent authority has since been received and IO shall be filing the report under section 173 CrPC within 10 days or so. "Accordingly, matter be now put up on April 7 for filing of progress report of further investigation," the judge said.

The court had earlier directed CBI to expeditiously submit the final report of its further probe into the case pertaining to allocation of Moira and Madhujore (North and South) coal blocks in West Bengal to VMPL. The court was hearing a case allegedly involving VMPL and its officials in which they are accused of making false claims relating to land allocation to get undue advantage in the coal block allocation. The FIR was registered in September 2012.

CBI, however, had later filed a closure report saying that charges against VMPL or its directors or even against public servants could not be substantiated during the probe. The court, on October 15 last year, had refused to accept the closure report and ordered CBI to further investigate the case.

The court had then noted in its order that it would have taken cognisance of offences of criminal conspiracy and cheating against VMPL and its directors or others involved, but the probe on the alleged role of Coal Ministry officers and other public servants in the entire process of the coal block allocation needed to be further carried out.

The FIR was registered against VMPL, its directors, including Vimal Patni, Vikash Patni and Anand Patni, and Anand Mallick who was the authorised signatory for the company. They were booked for alleged offences under sections 120 B (criminal conspiracy) and 420 (cheating) of the IPC. CBI, in its FIR, had said that VMPL had wrongly claimed it had been allocated 300 acres of land in Begusarai in Bihar by the Bihar Area Development Authority.

The agency had found that the land was de-allocated and directors of the firm had failed to inform the screening committee members about it, it had said.

Source: IBN