Coal scam case: Former union minister Dilip Ray convicted by Delhi court

File pic: Zee News

New Delhi: In connection with a coal scam case pertaining to alleged irregularities in the allocation of a Jharkhand coal block in the year 1999, a special CBI court convicted former Union Minister Dilip Ray for criminal conspiracy and other offences here on Tuesday (October 6). 

Dilip Ray was a former Minister of State for the Ministry of Coal during the then NDA government headed by Atal Bihari Vajpayee. The case pertains to the allocation of the Brahmadiha coal block in Giridih of Jharkhand to CTL in 1999. 

The Rouse Avenue court also convicted two then senior officials of the Ministry of Coal (MoC) -- Pradip Kumar Banerjee and Nitya Nand Gautam, Castron Technologies Ltd (CTL), its director Mahendra Kumar Agarwalla and Castron Mining Ltd (CML).

Special Judge Bharat Parashar is hearing the coal scam cases. The court will hear arguments on the quantum of sentence against them on October 14.

The Central Bureau of Investigation, in its chargesheet, had booked these accused under Section 120-B (criminal conspiracy), 420 (cheating), and 409 (criminal breach of trust) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and under provisions of the Prevention of Corruption Act.