Ex-coal secretary Gupta convicted in coal scam case

New Delhi: A Delhi court convicted Friday former coal secretary HC Gupta, ex-joint secretary KS Kropha, a private company and its director for irregularities in allocation of a coal block in Maharashtra. Gupta was convicted earlier in three separate coal scam cases.

The two coal ministry bureaucrats were held guilty of criminal conspiracy, breach of trust, cheating and corruption in awarding the contract to mine in the Lohara East coal block to Grace Industries Ltd (GIL) between 2005 and 2011.

Special Judge Arun Bhardwaj convicted GIL and its director Mukesh Gupta of criminal conspiracy and cheating. The court will hear arguments on the quantum of sentence to be awarded to convicts on August 4. This was the 11th conviction in coal scam cases. The Supreme Court had cancelled the entire allocation of coal blocks on August 25, 2014.

Ex-secretary Gupta was earlier convicted in two coal scam cases relating to Kamal Sponge Steel and Power Ltd and Vini Iron and Steel Udyog Ltd . In 2018, he was convicted in another coal scam case linked to Moira and Madhujore (North and South) coal blocks in West Bengal. The appeal against the orders are pending adjudication in Delhi HC.

CBI said the company marked up its net worth as Rs 120 crore, though in reality it was Rs 3.3 crore. GIL also falsified its capacity.