Chhattisgarh coal scam: Delhi court sentences former Rajya Sabha MP Vijay Darda, his son to four years in jail

Delhi’s special court on Wednesday sentenced former Rajya Sabha MP Vijay Darda to four years’ imprisonment in connection with the case relating to irregularities in the allocation of a coal block in Chhattisgarh. The court also sentenced his son Devender Darda and M/S JLD Yavatmal Energy Pvt Ltd’s Director Manoj Kumar Jayaswal to four years imprisonment in the case. Besides, the court also announced three-year jail term for former coal secretary HC Gupta, and two senior public servants KS Kropha and KC Samria. Special Judge Sanjay Bansal had on 13 July held all of them guilty in the case which shook the then Manmohan Singh government. The court convicted them under offences under Section 120B (criminal conspiracy) and 420 (cheating) of the Indian Penal Code and under the relevant provisions of the Prevention of Corruption Act. However, the court acquitted the accused under 409 IPC (Criminal Breach of Trust by Public Servants). Earlier, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) told the court that JLD Yavatmal Energy Limited got Fatehpur East Coal Block in Chhattisgarh as part of the alleged criminal conspiracy by misrepresentation facts on the eligibility conditions. According to the CBI, this is the thirteenth conviction in the Coal Scam related case. With inputs from agencies