Chhattisgarh Coal Scam: Delhi Court Sentences 3 Years Rigorous Imprisonment to Ex-Ministry of Steel Official

A Delhi Court on Tuesday awarded three years of rigorous imprisonment to Gautam Kumar Basak, former executive secretary of the Joint Plant Committee (JPC) under the Ministry of Steel, in relation to a corruption case tied to coal block allocation in Chhattisgarh.

The Special Judge Arun Bhardwaj also imposed a fine of Rs 5 lakh on Basak.

This marks the 14th conviction in matters linked to coal-related issues. The trial for this case was overseen by Sanjay Kumar, Deputy Legal Advisor at the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).

Last week, Special Judge Arun Bhardwaj had found Gautam Kumar Basak guilty under Section 13(2) read with Section 13(1)(d) of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988.

According to the CBI, in November 2006, the Union Ministry of Coal invited applications from companies engaged in power generation, steel, and cement for the allocation of coal blocks for captive power plants and independent power plants. Among the applicants, M/s Prakash Industries Ltd. sought the Vijay Central Coal Block in Chhattisgarh. It’s worth noting that the Chotia Coal Block had been previously allocated to M/s Prakash Industries Ltd.

The CBI revealed that in an application dated January 12, 2007, M/s Prakash Industries Ltd. claimed a sponge iron production capacity of 8 MTPA. Relying on this claim, the Screening Committee of the Ministry of Coal recommended the joint allocation of the Vijay Central Coal Block to M/s Prakash Industries Ltd. and M/s SKS ISpat Ltd. & Ors. These recommendations were forwarded to the Prime Minister’s Office for final approval.

However, complaints were filed by M/s SKS Ispat Ltd., M/s Youth Anti-Corruption Bureau (NGO), and Om Prakash, a Member of Parliament from the Samajwadi Party. They alleged that M/s Prakash Industries Ltd. secured the recommendation of the Screening Committee by providing false information about its capacity.

In response, the Ministry of Coal directed the Ministry of Steel to verify the claims made by M/s Prakash Industries Ltd. Accordingly, Gautam Kumar Basak, the Executive Secretary of JPC under the Ministry of Steel, was tasked with conducting on-the-spot verification at the plant of M/s Prakash Industries Ltd. in Champa, Raipur, Chhattisgarh.

On September 4, 2008, Gautam Kumar Basak, along with Soumen Chatterjee, Manager at JPC, allegedly visited the plant and submitted a false report on September 5, 2008, supporting the claims made by M/s Prakash Industries Ltd. The report stated that the company possessed four kilns and had a sponge iron production capacity of 8 MTPA.

This fabricated report was forwarded by the Ministry of Steel to the Ministry of Coal and the Prime Minister’s Office.

Further complaints from M/s SKS Ispat Ltd. and M/s Youth Anti-Corruption Bureau led to the establishment of an Inter-Ministerial committee by the Central government to ascertain the truth. After on-the-spot verification, this committee concluded that M/s Prakash Industries Ltd. had provided false information about its capacity in its application, and G K Basak had submitted a false verification report to support the company’s claims.

In response to these developments, the CBI registered an FIR on April 7, 2010.