Former Jharkhand CM gets a 3 year jail term by CBI court

New Delhi: Former Jharkhand CM Madhu Koda and ex-coal secretary HC Gupta were awarded three-year rigorous imprisonment by a special Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) court on Saturday in a coal scam case after hearing argument on quantum of punishment.A special court on Wednesday had pronounced Koda, Gupta and three others guilty of criminal conspiracy and corruption in the coal scam case.Besides the jail term, the special court also imposed a fine of Rs 25 lakh on Koda and Rs one lakh on Gupta.

The court also sentenced former Jharkhand coal secretary HC Gupta, then chief secretary Ashok Kumar Basu and Vijay Joshi of Vini Iron and Steel Udyog Ltd (VISUL) to 3 years' imprisonment in the case. Basu and Gupta were fined Rs1 lakh each, while Joshi and VISUL were fined Rs25 lakh and Rs 50 lakh, respectively.The conviction pertains to irregularities in the allocation of the Rajhara North coal block in Jharkhand to VISUL in 2008.The special court granted them 60 days to file an appeal.(UNI)