Coal scam: CBI asks accused' stand on whether to summon ex-PM

New Delhi: CBI on Friday told a Special court that all the 15 accused in a coal scam case, in which ex-Jharkhand CM Madhu Koda has sought summoning of former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh as accused, should clarify whether they support or oppose his plea.

Special Public Prosecutor RS Cheema told the court that if Koda's plea is allowed, it will lead to a joint trial of the 15 accused present before the court and the three persons, including Manmohan Singh, who are sought to be summoned by Koda.

"If Koda's plea is allowed, it will lead to a joint trial with the accused who are here and the persons who are sought to be summoned. We have to see whether all other accused are supporting or opposing the plea," he told Special CBI Judge Bharat Parashar.

The court asked the counsel representing other accused about it and they said they have not gone through Koda's application and were not aware of the grounds taken by the former chief minister.

The court, thereafter, asked Koda to supply the copy of his application to the other accused and posted the matter for further hearing on September 21.

The case pertains to alleged irregularities in allocation of Amarkonda Murgadangal coal block to two Jindal group companies, Jindal Steel and Power Ltd (JSPL) and Gagan Sponge Iron Pvt Ltd (GSIPL).

Koda, Congress leader and industrialist Naveen Jindal and 13 others were chargesheeted by the CBI in the case earlier. The court was hearing Koda's plea seeking to summon Singh as an additional accused along with Anand Swaroop, the then Secretary (Energy), and Jai Shankar Tiwari, the then Secretary (Mines and Geology), contending that CBI's theory of conspiracy remains incomplete without the involvement of the then Prime Minister who was also holding the portfolio of Coal Ministry.

He said Singh being the final authority to allocate coal blocks, cannot escape from the consequences of his decision. In his plea, Koda said, "the materials placed by CBI shows that the said conspiracy, if any, cannot be complete without the involvement of the Coal Minister (Singh) who had the final say in the entire allotment."