Delhi Court Dismisses Charges in Coal Allocation Case Against Hindalco
The Rouse Avenue Court in Delhi has exonerated Hindalco, a division of the Aditya Birla Group, from accusations linked to a decade-old coal block allocation controversy. This decision effectively closes the case filed by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) against the aluminum and copper manufacturing giant.
Presiding over the case, Special Judge for Prevention of Corruption Act, Dheeraj Mor, also dismissed charges against Hindalco’s former President and CEO, SK Tamotia, and former General Manager of Corporate Affairs, PRS Mani. The court concluded that the CBI failed to substantiate any illegal activities committed by the accused parties. The agency could not establish a prima facie case of criminal breach of trust, cheating, or criminal conspiracy.
“In absence thereof, there is neither any evidence on record nor any justifiable reason to infer that they entered into criminal conspiracy to commit any illegal act including the offence of criminal breach of trust or cheating. Therefore, they are entitled to be discharged for the said offence,” the Court declared in its May 30 ruling.
Background of the Case
The allegations revolved around Hindalco’s purportedly improper use of coal from the Talabira-I coal block in Odisha, originally allocated in 1994. The CBI claimed that the company utilized the coal for its existing 67.5 MW captive power plant at Hirakud, rather than for the intended new power projects. Between 2004-05 and 2010-11, Hindalco allegedly extracted 4.80 million tonnes beyond the estimated coal reserves of about 15 million tonnes, supposedly resulting in undue profit.
Furthermore, the CBI accused Hindalco officials of providing misleading information to the Ministry of Coal to secure approval for a revised mining plan. However, the court observed that the original allocation letter’s restriction—limiting coal block usage to proposed plants—was not included in the 2003 mining lease executed with the Odisha government. The court emphasized that the mining lease, rather than the original allocation letter, defined the legal rights and obligations concerning the coal block.
Court’s Observations
Judge Dheeraj Mor stated that it was implausible to conclude that any alleged misrepresentation by Hindalco officials led government authorities to approve actions they would have otherwise rejected. “The allegations in this regard are also devoid of merit and deserve rejection,” the Court noted.
Consequently, the court discharged all three accused individuals, bringing the long-standing case to a close.
This ruling marks a significant development in the series of coal scam cases, often referred to as Coalgate, which have been under scrutiny by Indian authorities.
