CBI likely to file status report in coal scam on Tuesday

The Central Bureau of Investigation is likely to file its status report in the coal scam before the Supreme Court on Tuesday stating details of its 14th FIR against Hindalco and others and also progress in the remaining 13 cases.

Highly-placed sources said the Supreme Court would be given the details of fresh FIR filed against Aditya Birla Group Chairman Kumar Mangalam Birla, Hindalco and former Coal Secretary P C Parakh.

They said the status of probe in remaining matters including those in which investigation has been completed will be conveyed to the apex court on October 22.

The CBI has registered 14 FIRs so far in connection with the alleged graft in allocation of coal blocks in which AMR Iron and Steel, JLD Yavatmal Energy, Vini Iron and Steel Udyog, JAS Infrastructure Capital Pvt Ltd, Vikash Metals, Grace

Industries, Gagan Sponge, Jindal Steel and Power, Rathi Steel and Power Ltd, Jharkhand Ispat, Green Infrastructure, Kamal Sponge, Pushp Steel and Hindalco have been named as accused.

The agency would also give a status of the preliminary enquiry registered by it in connection with the missing files, the sources said.

The Supreme Court is monitoring the probe in the coal block allocation scam to "restore the larger public interest and confidence of the people into the case of this magnitude".

The court is scrutinising coal block allocation since 1993 on three PILs seeking cancellation of blocks on the ground that rules were flouted in giving away the natural resources and that certain companies were favoured in this process.

In a recent hearing, Supreme Court had issued notices to seven coal mining states -- Madhya Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Odisha, Jharkhand, Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh and West Bengal -- to explain allocation policies adopted by them by October 29.

Photograph: Reuters