Coal Scam: Delhi High Court Orders Renewal Of Ex-MP Vijay Darda's Passport For Three Years

The Delhi High Court has ordered renewal of passport of former Rajya Sabha MP Vijay Darda, convicted in a coal scam case, for a period of three years.

Justice Swarana Kanta Sharma observed that Darda was granted permission on past many occasions to travel abroad and he did not misused the liberty granted to him.

The court noted that while suspending Darda's four years of sentence in September last year, a condition was imposed that he shall not leave the country without prior permission of the concerned Court.

“Therefore, considering the overall facts and circumstances of the case, and in view of the aforesaid discussion, this Court directs that the passport of the appellant herein be renewed for a period of three years,” the court said.

The court took note of the notification dated August 25, 1993, regarding renewal of passport of persons against whom criminal cases are pending before Courts in India.

Justice Sharma disposed of an application moved by Darda seeking renewal of his passport for 10 years.

Darda submitted that he is a frequent traveler who needs to attend professional meetings to develop relations with his clients.

However, the CBI opposed the application and said that the Union Government's office memorandum specifically mentions that the passport of someone against whom criminal cases are pending, shall be issued for one year or for the period of specified in the order of the court.

It was contended that Darda's passport be renewed as per relevant Rules, and not for a period of 10 years.

Dardas, along with his son Devender Darda and businessman Manoj Kumar Jayaswal, were convicted in a case related to irregularities in the allocation of a coal block in Chhattisgarh. The trial court had observed that they obtained the block by cheating the government.

The trial court had also awarded three years of sentence to former coal secretary H C Gupta and two other other former officials namely K S Kropha and K C Samria. The three individuals were granted bail by the special judge to enable them to challenge their conviction before the High Court.

The trial court had held the accused persons guilty of criminal conspiracy (Section 120B) and cheating (Section 420) under the Indian Penal Code and other offences under the Prevention of Corruption Act.

The court had also imposed a fine of Rs. 50 lakhs on JLD Yavatmal Energy Pvt Ltd, the entity which was also convicted in the matter.

A fine of Rs. 15 lakhs each was also imposed by the special judge on the Dardas and Jayaswal. The other three convicts were directed to pay a fine of Rs. 20,000 each.

Counsel for Appellant: Mr. Mudit Jain, Ms. Garima Singh and Mr. Rudraksh Nakra, Advocates

Counsel for Respondent: Mr. R.S. Cheema, SPP with Ms. Tarannum Cheema, Adv. for CBI

Title: VIJAY DARDA v. CENTRAL BUREAU OF INVESTIGATION

Citation: 2024 LiveLaw (Del) 539

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