Former Coal secretary H C Gupta was today awarded a two-year imprisonment by a special court here in a coal scam case.
Special CBI Judge Bharat Parasher also sentenced two senior government officials, K S Kropha and K C Samaria, to two-year imprisonment in the case.
Besides the jail term, the court also imposed a fine of Rs one lakh each on the three convicts.
The case involves the irregularities in the allocation of the Thesgora-B Rudrapuri coal block in Madhya Pradesh to Kamal Sponge Steel and Power Ltd (KSSPL).
Besides them, the court imposed a fine of Rs one crore on convicted private firm KSSPL, while its Managing Director Pawan Kumar Ahluwalia was awarded three-year jail term by the court.
Ahluwalia will also have to pay a fine of Rs 30 lakh.
On May 19, the court had convicted Gupta, Kropha and Samaria. It also held KSSPL and its Ahluwalia guilty of the offences, including cheating.
All the convicts were granted bail soon after the sentence was announced to enable them move the High Court.
The CBI had urged the court to award the maximum punishment of seven years jail term to Gupta.
Senior public prosecutor V K Sharma had told the court that the convicts had committed an economic offence and urged it not to grant any leniency to them.
The convicts, however, had sought leniency, citing old age and no previous conviction in any other case.
On May 19, the court had convicted Gupta, Kropha and Samaria. It also held the firm and its managing director Pawan Kumar Ahluwalia guilty of the offences, including cheating.
The court, however, acquitted chartered accountant Amit Goyal in the case.
The CBI had in October 2012 lodged an FIR in the matter, but on March 27, 2014 it filed a closure report. The court rejected the closure report on October 13, 2014 and summoned Gupta and others as accused.
The CBI had alleged that the firm had misrepresented its net worth and the existing capacity, adding that the state government had also not recommended the firm for the allocation of any coal block.
Ten more coal scam cases are pending against Gupta and the proceedings are going on separately. The Supreme Court had last year dismissed his plea seeking a joint trial in all these cases.
(With PTI inputs)
