Delhi CBI court summons Congress leader Naveen Jindal in coal block money laundering case

A CBI court in Delhi has summoned industrialist and Congress leader Naveen Jindal along with 14 others as accused for alleged money laundering in a case pertaining to irregularities in allocation of a coal block in Jharkhand. 

Special Judge Bharat Parashar directed them to appear in the court on October 15, saying that prima facie there were enough evidence to summon them as accused.

Besides Jindal, those summoned as accused include Jindal Steel and Power Ltd's then adviser Anand Goel, Mumbai's Essar Power Ltd's Executive Vice-Chairman Sushil Kumar Maroo, Nihar Stocks Ltd's Director BSN Suryanarayan, Mumbai-based KE International's Chief Financial Officer Rajeev Aggarwal and Gurgaon-based Green Infra's Vice-President Siddharth Madra.

Those arrayed as accused also include K Ramakrishna Prasad, Rajiv Jain and Gyan Swaroop Garg as well as six companies -- JSPL, Gagan Sponge Iron Ltd, Jindal Realty Pvt Ltd, New Delhi Exim Pvt Ltd, Sowbhagya Media Ltd and



Nihar Stocks Ltd.

The case, filed under the provisions of Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) pertains to the allocation of the Amarkonda Murgadangal coal block in Jharkhand. 

In its charge sheet, the ED alleged that Jindal's firm - JSPL - along with others had influenced the screening committee to allot the coal block by investing more than two crore rupees in illegal gratification.

In another case filed by the CBI in relation to the present matter, the court had in April 2016 ordered framing of charges against Jindal, former MoS for Coal Dasari Narayan Rao, former Jharkhand Chief Minister Madhu Koda, then Coal Secretary H C Gupta and 11 others for the alleged offences of criminal conspiracy, cheating, criminal breach of trust under the IPC and sections of Prevention of Corruption Act in the case.

The court later also framed an additional charge of abetment of bribery against Jindal.