A special CBI Court has sentenced Ex-Union Minister Dilip Ray to three years imprisonment in a coal scam case pertaining to the alleged irregularities in the allocation of a Jharkhand coal block in 1999.
The Court also sentenced three years imprisonment to 2 other individuals who were also convicted recently in the matter.
Special Judge Bharat Prashar, while pronouncing sentence also imposed fine of the sum of Rs 10 lakhs each against all convicted individuals.
Lawyer Manu Sharma, representing Dilip Ray said we are moving bail for him & also will go in appeal against his conviction.
The same Court has also fined Castron Technologies Ltd (CTL) with Rs 60 lakhs & Castron Mining Ltd (CML) with Rs 10 lakh. Both firms were also held convicted by the Court.
The CBI Court had recently convicted Dilip Ray, 2 then senior officials of the Ministry of Coal (MoC) -- Pradip Kumar Banerjee & Nitya Nand Gautam, Castron Technologies Ltd (CTL), its director Mahendra Kumar Agarwalla & Castron Mining Ltd (CML) in the case for charges of criminal conspiracy & other offences.
The Central Bureau of Investigation earlier urged the Court to award life imprisonment to Dilip Ray, who was a Ex-Minister of State for the Ministry of Coal during the then NDA Govt.
The Court earlier said since it has now been concluded beyond shadows of all reasonable doubts that all the five accused persons Castron Technologies Ltd., Mahendra Kumar Agarwalla, Dilip Ray, Pradip Kumar Banerjee & Nitya Nand Gautam conspired together so as to procure allocation of a captive coal block i.e. Brahmadiha coal block in favour of M/s CTL & finally achieved the said object of the criminal conspiracy by undertaking various acts of cheating MOC, Indian Govt by M/s CTL & A-2 M.K. Agarwalla & by various acts constituting the offence of criminal misconduct as defined under Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988 by Dilip Ray, Pradip Kumar Banerjee & Nitya Nand Gautam & also the offence of criminal breach of trust by public servant by Dilip Ray, so the court accordingly hold them guilty of the offences uls 120-B Indian Penal Code, 120-B/409/420 Indian Penal Code & Section 13 (1) (c) & 13 (1) (d) Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988, 1988 & convict them thereunder beside also convicting them for the substantive offences as already discussed in the earlier part of the judgment 469.
The 3 accused persons i.e. M/s CTL, Mahesh Kumar Agarwalla & M/s CML are also held guilty for the offence under section 379/34 Indian Penal Code & Court accordingly convict them.
The CBI, in its charge sheet, had booked these accused under Section 120-B (criminal conspiracy), 420 (cheating) & 409 (criminal breach of trust) of the Indian Penal Code & under provisions of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988.
The case pertains to the allocation of the Brahmadiha coal block in Giridih of Jharkhand to CTL in 1999.
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