Delhi’s Patiala House Court on Thursday framed additional charges of abetment of bribery against former Congress MP Naveen Jindal and some others in connection with the allocation of the Amarkonda Murgadangal coal block in Jharkhand, ANI reported.
A special Central Bureau of Investigation court too had ordered framing of an additional abetment charge on July 14.
On Tuesday, a Delhi court had summoned Jindal and 14 others and asked them to appear before it on October 15 on charges of money laundering.
The Enforcement Directorate has submitted its final report in the case, saying Jindal’s firm Jindal Steel and Power Limited and others had influenced the screening committee to allot the coal block by paying kickbacks worth Rs 2 crore. Last month, the agency had filed its chargesheet against Jindal and 14 others.
In April 2016, the court ordered the framing of charges against Jindal, former Minister of State for Coal Dasari Narayan Rao – who has passed away since then – former Jharkhand Chief Minister Madhu Koda, former Coal Secretary HC Gupta, and 11 others for the alleged offences of criminal conspiracy, cheating, and criminal breach of trust.
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