NEW DELHI : A special court today granted one more month’s time to CBI to file the probe report in a coal scam case involving Congress leader and industrialist Naveen Jindal, ex-Minister of State for Coal Dasari Narayan Rao and others.
Special Judge Bharat Parashar, who had earlier pulled up CBI’s investigating officer (IO) for delay in filing the probe report, decided to take up the matter on December 16 after the IO submitted that the Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL) report is yet to be obtained.
The officer told the court that the probe agency is likely to get the report by the end of this month.
The court had earlier this month pulled up CBI for delay in filing the report, saying it was affecting progress of trial.
The court had earlier allowed CBI’s plea that they needed to probe the case further in light of certain disclosures made by a chartered accountant, Suresh Singhal, who had sought the court’s nod to turn approver.
It had also allowed Singhal’s plea for pardon and ordered deletion of his name from the list of accused.
CBI has alleged that ex-Jharkhand Chief Minister Madhu Koda, also accused in the case, had favoured Jindal group firms — Jindal Steel and Power Ltd (JSPL) and Gagan Sponge Iron Private Ltd (GSIPL) — in allocation of Amarkonda Murgadangal coal block in Jharkhand.
Opposing CBI’s contention, all the accused had said there was no evidence to show that they were in any conspiracy during the coal block allocation process. They had also denied the allegations levelled against them by CBI in its charge sheet. (AGENCIES)
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