A Delhi court on Monday took cognisance of charges against industrialist Naveen Jindal, former coal secretary PC Parekh, and others under IPC provisions related to criminal conspiracy and cheating, as well as the Prevention of Corruption Act. The court described the case record as one of the most voluminous chargesheets of coal block cases.

As mentioned in a report in Times of India, special judge Sunena Sharma issued summons to Naveen Jindal, JSPL, Parekh, Rakesh Kumar Jindal, Ram Kishore, SK Agarwal, and Jindal Strips Ltd, now Nalwa Sons Investments Ltd. They were directed to appear before the court on July 17.

The CBI stated that Jindal Strips Ltd was allotted the Gare Palma IV/1 coal block in Chhattisgarh in 1996 for a sponge iron plant with a capacity of 0.6 million tonnes per annum, despite the block containing substantially higher coal reserves. The approved mining lease area was fixed at 705 hectares, but the lease was allegedly executed beyond the area approved by the Centre.

The CBI further alleged that this irregularity was later regularised by a screening committee in 2005, which also proposed additional land beyond the approved area. The court noted that when JSPL sought approval in March 2004 to increase production at the coal block from 2 million tonnes per annum to 6 million tonnes per annum, the coal ministry found discrepancies in lease boundaries and excess production, and sought an explanation.

The court order on Monday, which took cognisance of the charges against Jindal, Parekh, and the other accused, also set July 17 as the date for their appearance in the case linked to the Gare Palma IV/1 coal block allotment.

Published on: Jun 3, 2026 12:37 PM IST