CBI court holds Madhu Koda, others guilty in coal scam case

A Delhi's Special Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) court on Wednesday holds former Jharkhand Chief Minister Madhu Koda, former Coal Secy HC Gupta, former Jharkhand Chief Secy Ashok Kumar Basu and one other as guilty of criminal conspiracy & section 120 B in coal scam case.

The quantum of punishment will be announced on Thursday.The CBI had alleged that the VISUL had applied for allocation of coal block in January 2007. They were summoned as accused after the court took cognizance of alleged offences under sections 120-B (criminal conspiracy) read with 420 (cheating) and 409 (criminal breach of trust by public servants) of Indian Penal Code (IPC) and under the provisions of the Prevention of Corruption Act.

In May, HC Gupta was convicted along with two other former bureaucrats in a case related to the allocation of a coal mining block in Madhya Pradesh to a private company. It was the first coal scam case in which senior government officials were held guilty.