A special court on Wednesday sentenced three employees of a private firm to three years’ imprisonment, finding them guilty of criminal conspiracy and cheating the exchequer by misrepresenting facts to acquire a coal block in West Bengal.
The three accused were engaged by a firm called Himachal EMTA Power Ltd. (HEPL) Private Limited. On Wednesday, Special Judge Sanjay Bansal also imposed a fine of Rs two lakh each on the three convicts. The court stated that, prima facie, there was evidence that suggested that the accused committed the offence under sections 120-B (criminal conspiracy) and 420 (cheating) of the IPC. The court also imposed a fine of Rs 20 lakh on Himachal EMTA Power Ltd in the case. However, the court suspended the punishment for a period of 45 days to enable the convicts to appeal against their conviction before the Delhi High Court.
According to the CBI, this is the 12th conviction in coal scam cases secured by the Prosecution Team appointed by the Supreme Court of India order dated 01.09.2014.According to the prosecution, HEPL had misrepresented the status of the land in question and the investment made by it in the project and had secured the allocation of the coal block based on such misrepresentations.