Coal scam: Delhi court grants bail to Naveen Jindal, 13 others accused in money laundering case; next hearing scheduled for 11 December

New Delhi: A Delhi court on Monday granted bail to industrialist and Congress leader Naveen Jindal and 13 others, accused of money laundering in a case pertaining to alleged irregularities in allocation of a Jharkhand-based coal block. The court, however, put various conditions on the accused, including that they will not leave the country without its prior permission and not influence the witnesses or hamper the probe. [caption id=“attachment_2231286” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] FIle image of Congress leader and industrialist Naveen Jindal. AFP[/caption] Special Judge Bharat Parashar granted the relief to Jindal and others on a personal bond of Rs one lakh and one surety of the like amount after they appeared in court in pursuance to the summons issued to them on 14 August. During the hearing, Enforcement Directorate’s (ED) special public prosecutors — senior advocate RS Cheema and advocate NK Matta— opposed the bail application, saying the relief may hamper the investigation. The court has now put up the mater for 11 December for scrutiny of documents. In its chargesheet, filed through advocates Tarannum Cheema and Samvedna Verma, the ED alleged that Jindal’s firm Jindal Steel and Power Ltd (JSPL) along with others had influenced the screening committee to allot the coal block by investing more than Rs two crore in illegal gratification. The case, filed under the provisions of Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), pertains to the allocation of the Amarkonda Murgadangal coal block in Jharkhand. Besides Jindal, those granted relief include Jindal Steel and Power Ltd’s then adviser Anand Goel, Mumbai’s Essar Power Ltd’s Executive Vice-Chairman Sushil Kumar Maroo, Nihar Stocks Ltd’s Director BSN Suryanarayan, Mumbai-based KE International’s Chief Financial Officer Rajeev Aggarwal and ex-JSPL official Siddharth Madra. Those arrayed as accused also include K Ramakrishna Prasad, Rajiv Jain and Gyan Swaroop Garg. Prasad was not granted bail as he failed to appear before the court and moved an exemption application which was allowed by the court for Monday. Besides the individuals, the court has also summoned as accused six companies — JSPL, Gagan Sponge Iron Ltd, Jindal Realty Pvt Ltd, New Delhi Exim Pvt Ltd, Sowbhagya Media Ltd and Nihar Stocks Ltd.