Shillong,May 22: The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) special judge Bharat Parashar awarded a two-year sentence to former coal secretary H C Gupta and his two deputies, including the chief Secretary of Meghalaya K S Kropha and K C Samaria, convicted by him on May 19.
The three former officers in the Ministry of Coal (MoC) were convicted under the Indian Penal Code (IPC) for criminal conspiracy and cheating and under the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988 (PCC), for obtaining undue pecuniary advantage, against the public interest, for M/s Kamal Sponge Steel and Power Ltd (KSSPL).
All convicts were, however, granted bail on the same day. They will now be able to challenge their sentence in the High Court. They were also found guilty of cheating and corruption for their role in allocation of Rudrapur coal block to KSSPL in Madhya Pradesh.
However, Chartered Account Amit Goyal, who was also facing trial in the case, got acquitted from all charges by the court.
Special CBI Judge Bharat Parashar also slapped a penalty of Rs one lakh on each of the convicted persons. The court also fined private company Kamal Sponge Steel and Power Ltd (KSPPL) an amount of Rs one crore. The company’s managing director Pawan Kumar Ahluwalia has been given a prison sentence of three years, along with a fine of Rs 30 lakh.
Mr. Kropha who is the chief Secretary of Meghalaya has taken leave and Y. Tsering Additional Chief Secretary has taken over the charge of chief secretary.