Coal Scam: Delhi High Court suspends sentence of directors held guilty of conspiracy to cheat government

The Delhi High Court on Monday suspended the four-month prison sentences awarded to two directors of a company who were convicted for allegedly conspiring to cheat the Government of India in 2003 to get a coal block in Odisha allocated in their favour [Mahesh Kumar Agarwal, Nirmal Kumar Agarwal v. CBI]..The order passed by Justice Anu Malhotra noted,“It does not appear that the convicts herein are likely to evade the process of law in as much as despite their not having been released neither before the institution of the charge sheet nor thereafter in as much as they were not incarcerated at any stage coupled with the factum that the period of more than 6 ½ years has lapsed from when the trial commenced (sic)...”.The counsel representing the two men argued that they did not have criminal antecedents and weren't flight risks. Besides, there was no scope of tampering with evidence, given the fact that they had been convicted.It was also argued that there was no bar on suspending their sentence as the same had been granted to persons accused in rape cases and those charged under the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988. The provisions of the 1988 Act hadn't even been invoked in the present case, and there was no monetary loss to the exchequer, it was submitted..Counsel appearing for the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) countered the plea, submitting that the conviction in the case pertained to the coal scam investigation, which was being monitored by the Supreme Court. It was also argued that such cases had a serious impact on the economy of the country..However, the Court noted that the ₹60 lakh fine imposed on the applicants had been deposited. This, coupled with the fact that the applicants did not have any antecedents, prompted the Court to suspend the sentence.The two men were directed to not leave the country without the Court’s permission, and an intimation to the Foreigners Regional Registration Office as well as all airports of the country.“Applicants shall keep their mobile phones on and drop a pin on the Google map to ensure that their location is available to the Investigating Officer of the case. Applicants shall commit no offence whatsoever and shall not make any contact with the prosecution witnesses,” the Court further directed.Senior Advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi and Advocates Mudit Jain, Vijay Gupta and Avishkar Singhvi appeared for Mahesh Kumar Agarwal.Advocates Vijay Aggarwal, Hardik Sharma, Vishal Gourav and Ambrish represented Nirmal Kumar Agarwal.Senior Advocate RS Cheema and Advocates Tarannum Cheema and Akash Singh represented the CBI..Adhunik Corporation and its directors - Nirmal Kumar Agarwal and Mahesh Kumar Agarwal - were tried and convicted by a Delhi court on April 21 this year in the case investigated by the CBI. The company had succeeded in procuring allocation of the New Patrapara Coal Block allocated for its sponge iron plants at Durgapur, West Bengal and Sundargarh, Odisha.Special Judge Arun Bharadwaj said all “attending circumstances unerringly” pointed towards criminal conspiracy on the part of the company to cheat the Ministry of Steel (MoS), the government’s Screening Committee and the Ministry of Coal while securing the allocation.They were both subsequently sentenced to four months of simple imprisonment and saddled with a fine of ₹30 lakh each.All three were held guilty for criminal conspiracy, cheating and forgery under Sections 120B, Section 420 and Section 471 of the Indian Penal Code..[Read Order]