Coal block allocation case: Court acquits AES Chhattisgarh and director Sanjeev Aggarwal; Details here

The CBI had filed an FIR alleging that AES Chhattisgarh had misrepresented the fact that it was a subsidiary of AES Corp USA even though it was not a subsidiary of the US company on the day of filing the application.

New Delhi: In a significant development, a special judge, Arun Bhardwaj, has acquitted AES Chhattisgarh Energy Private Limited (AES Chhattisgarh) and its director, Sanjeev Aggarwal, in the coal block allocation case. The case built around them related to alleged and deliberate misrepresentation and concealment of facts during the allocation of the coal block. The Arun Bhardwaj Special Court ruled that the plaintiff had failed to prove its case as the evidence adduced by them revealed major differences in business practices between the countries of the US and India.

Special Judge Arun Bhardwaj granted the relief to AES Chhattisgarh Energy Pvt Ltd, a subsidiary of AES Corp. Delaware (United States), and the subsidiary’s director, Sanjay Aggarwal, in the case regarding the allocation of Sayang coal blocks in the state on November 6. , 2007.

The CBI had filed an FIR alleging that AES Chhattisgarh had misrepresented the fact that it was a subsidiary of AES Corp USA even though it was not a subsidiary of the US company on the day of filing the application.

The court, however, accepted the arguments of senior advocate Vikas Pahwa, who submitted various correspondence from AES Corp. USA, which showed that this company controlled AES Chhattisgarh Energy Pvt. Ltd. at the time of the application.

The judge, who had canceled Aggarwal’s bail on September 21, 2022, noted that he had “prima facie” breached the “fundamental condition of bail” by attempting to influence a witness, according to sections 420 (cheating) and 120 -B (criminal conspiracy). of IPC were not pronounced against the two accused. However, Aggarwal was later granted bail.

The court had taken notice of the offense under Section 120-B and 420 of the IPC against AES Chhattisgarh Energy Pvt in May 2017. Ltd. and Agarwal.

During the final arguments, Pahwa claimed that there was “no complainant or victim” in the present case as the Coal Ministry had not filed any complaint that the accused had been cheated and the CBI had filed the case on its own.

(With input from agencies)