Read Time: 04 minutes

Synopsis

The Delhi High Court on Friday gave interim bail to former Rajya Sabha MP Vijay Darda, his son Devendra Darda and businessman and Director of JLD Yavatmal Energy Pvt Ltd Manoj Kumar Jayaswal, who were sentenced to four years in jail in a case related to irregularities in the allocation of a coal block in Chhattisgarh.

Justice Dinesh Kumar Sharma issued notice to the Central Bureau of Investigation and sought its response on appeals filed by the three men challenging their conviction and sentence in the case within eight weeks.

The court also asked the CBI to file its response to the convicts' pleas seeking suspension of their four-year jail term.

Justice Sharma granted interim bail to the three on furnishing a bail bond of Rs. 10 lakh each and two sureties of the same amount.

Notably, the father-son duo and Jayaswal were sentenced to four years of rigorous imprisonment by the trial court on July 26. The trial court had also sentenced Former Secretary of the Ministry of Coal, HC Gupta and bureaucrats KC Kropha and KC Samria to undergo three years of imprisonment in the same case.

Dardas and Jayaswal have filed the present appeal against the Trial court order dated July 26 and have sought suspension of sentences. They have stated that the trial court judgement is “replete with contradictions” and they were “never arrested” in the case.

It is to be noted that the trial court had held all the accused guilty of offences under Sections 120B (criminal conspiracy) read with Section 420 (cheating and dishonestly inducing delivery of property) of the Indian Penal Code and Section 13(1)(d)(iii) of the Prevention of Corruption Act.

The court had also imposed a fine of Rs. 50 lakh on M/s JLD Yavatmal. It also imposed a fine of Rs. 15 lakh each on the Dardas and Jayaswal. The other three convicts were directed to pay a fine of Rs. 20,000 each.

Case Title: Vijay Darda v. CBI; Manoj Kumar Jayaswal v. CBI and Devendra Darda v. CBI