Delhi court acquits ex-MSMCL officials in Adkoli coal block irregularity case
A Delhi court has acquitted two former Maharashtra State Mining Corporation Limited officials in a long-standing coal block allocation case. The judge ruled that the decision to favor a private firm was a collective institutional act rather than a criminal conspiracy by the accused.
Why it matters
This verdict highlights the complexities of legal accountability in government-led infrastructure projects and the difficulty of proving criminal intent in collective administrative decisions.
A Delhi court has acquitted two former Maharashtra State Mining Corporation Limited (MSMCL) officials in a case related to alleged irregularities in the allocation of the Adkoli coal block, saying the foundational ingredients of the offences of cheating and criminal conspiracy remained wholly unestablished.
Special CBI Judge Dheeraj Mor acquitted Dominic Gabriel Philip, a former managing director of the MSMCL, and Avinash Manohar Rao Warjukar, a former chairman of the corporation.
The case stems from a 2012 FIR lodged by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) regarding the Marki-Zari-Jamni-Adkoli coal block allocated to the MSMCL in 2006. The federal agency had registered the FIR for criminal conspiracy, cheating and under the provisions of the Prevention of Corruption Act.
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