CBI to submit status report on coal scam in Supreme Court today?

NEW DELHI: The CBI is likely to submit a status report on Monday informing Supreme Court about the progress made in the coal scam probe and on filing chargesheets in cases registered by the agency in 2012. Sources said that along with the status report, CBI may file a few chargesheets as well on Monday before the designated court naming private companies.

The Supreme Court had asked CBI, during the last hearing on February 11, to submit a status report about filing of chargesheet in six of the cases finalized by the agency. CBI has filed over 16 FIRs which include those against AMR Iron and Steel, JLD Yavatmal Energy, Vini Iron and Steel Udyog, JAS Infrastructure Capital Pvt Ltd, Grace Industries, Jindal Steel and Power, Rathi Steel and Power Ltd, Jharkhand Ispat, Green Infrastructure, Kamal Sponge, Pushp Steel, Hindalco, BLA Industries, Castron Technologies and Castron Mining and Nav Bharat Power Private Limited.

These FIRs were registered after the agency probed three preliminary enquiries related to coal block allocation between 2006 and 2009, 1993 and 2004 and projects given under a government scheme.

CBI may also inform the apex court about the permission sought from nine states which were reluctant in allowing the agency to conduct probe in their jurisdiction. CBI had been directed to file chargesheet in all the cases finalized by it by the first week of March but the agency had moved a petition on March 4 seeking more time to file chargesheets in the cases.

"The CBI is strenuously making efforts to meet the deadline fixed by the court. Inquiry or investigation in all three PEs and arising out of 14 cases are being attended to simultaneously. In the process, reaching a logical conclusion is taking its due time," the agency had said.

"For these reasons, forming an opinion in terms of Section 173(2) of Criminal Procedure Code (filing of chargesheet) on the basis of scrutiny of evidence collected in six completed RCs and preparation of final report would take some more time for submission before the appropriate trial court," CBI had said in its plea before the apex court.

In its earlier status report before the Supreme Court, CBI had said inquiries in respect of 87 companies had been finalized besides probe in respect of 38 companies had been concluded.

According to the comptroller and auditor general, an estimated loss of Rs 1.86 lakh crore was caused to the exchequer in the coal block allocation scam.