Coal scam: Former minister seeks parity with Manmohan, CBI opposes his plea

Along with Bagrodia, ex-Coal Secretary H C Gupta and retired public servant L S Janoti were summoned as accused in the case.

As former Union Minister Santosh Bagrodia sought parity with former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in a coal block allocation case, the CBI told the Supreme Court on Monday that Singh’s case was “different”.

Opposing Bagrodia’s plea to stay the summons against him, like it was done for Singh, CBI’s lawyer Amarendra Sharan contended that “criminal intent” was evident in this case, while it wasn’t so in the former PM’s case.

“The interim order passed in the other (Singh’s) case is different from this case. That order cannot be applied here. In this case, there is a criminal intent and motive. Role of the petitioner cannot be denied in this case,” Sharan told a bench led by Justice Madan B Lokur.

Story continues below this ad

Singh was earlier summoned as an accused in the case related to the allocation of Talabira-II coal block in Odisha to Aditya Birla Group’s Hindalco. But the order was stayed by the top court on the first date of hearing after Singh appealed.

Bagrodia, former Minister of State for Coal in Singh’s cabinet, has been summoned as an accused in another case concerning allocation of a coal block in Maharashtra.

Senior advocate K K Venugopal, who represented Bagrodia, claimed that parity with Singh was a matter of his right and not granting him similar relief would amount to denial of justice.

“There is only one Supreme Court of India though you sit in different benches. Why should I (Bagrodia) be placed on a different footing only because my matter is before a different bench? My case is also of summoning like Singh and the facts are similar,” he pleaded.

Story continues below this ad

Venugopal sought exemption from personal appearance before the trial court on September 29. The bench allowed Bagrodia to move a plea before the trial court.

Stay updated with the latest - Click here to follow us on Instagram