A Delhi court has acquitted SKS Ispat and Power Ltd and four others, including the brother of former Union minister Subodh Kant Sahay, in a case related to alleged irregularities in the allocation of Chhattisgarh's Vijay Central Coal Block.
Special Judge Sunena Sharma acquitted M/s SKS Ispat & Power Ltd, its managing director Anil Gupta, joint managing director Deepak Gupta, manager Amrit Singh and designated director Sudhir Kumar Sahay of cheating and criminal conspiracy charges, saying the prosecution failed to establish the offences against them.
The CBI alleged that the company and the accused persons made "willful concealments and deceptions", including false claims and figures to show an advanced level of preparedness to secure the allocation of the coal block.
The agency claimed that they entered into a criminal conspiracy to cheat the Union Ministry of Coal to procure allocation of the captive coal block in favour of SKS Ispat and Power Ltd by making various false claims about networth, land, investment and clearances.
In a 271-page judgment pronounced on May 23, the court said, "The evidence adduced on record is highly insufficient to conclusively establish any of the essential ingredients viz.deception, inducement, dishonest intention or wrongful gain for the alleged offence of cheating punishable under Section 420 of the IPC."
It said the prosecution has failed to substantiate the allegations against any of the accused beyond a reasonable doubt.
"The...
A Delhi court has acquitted SKS Ispat and Power Ltd and four others, including the brother of former Union minister Subodh Kant Sahay, in a case related to alleged irregularities in the allocation...