Coal scam: Former coal secretary HC Gupta gets 2-yr jail term 

Former coal secretary HC Gupta was on Monday awarded two-year-imprisonment by a special court in New Delhi in a coal scam case. Special CBI Judge Bharat Parasher also gave a similar sentence to two other senior government officials, KS Kropha and KC Samaria, in the case.

Gupta and the other two senior bureaucrats were earlier convicted by the court for irregularities in the allocation of the Thesgora-B Rudrapuri coal block in Madhya Pradesh to a private firm.

Besides the jail term, the court also imposed a fine of ₹1 lakh each on the three convicts.

Besides them, the court imposed a fine of ₹1 crore on convicted private firm Kamal Sponge Steel and Power Limited, while its Managing Director Pawan Kumar Ahluwalia was awarded a three-year jail term by the court. Ahluwalia will also have to pay a fine of ₹30 lakh.

All the convicts were granted bail soon after the sentence was announced to enable them move the High Court.