New Delhi [India], Dec 21 (NT): today A Delhi Court will continue to hear the coal block allocation scam case.

On December 16, 2017, the Special Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) court in Delhi gave judgment to sentence former Jharkhand chief minister Madhu Koda to three years of imprisonment in links with Jharkhand coal scam.

Justice Bharat Parashar also gave the verdict to sentence Koda's close supporter Vijay Joshi, Ex-Coal Secretary HC Gupta and Jharkhand's then Chief Secretary AK Basu to the detention center for three years.

The court also imposed a fine of Rs 25 lakh each on Koda and Joshi, while a fine of Rs 1 lakh each on Gupta and Basu.

Private company Vini Iron and Steel Udyog Ltd (VISUL) was also recovered as an account of criminal and unethical conspiracy under the Prevention of Corruption Act and was imposed with a fine of Rs 50 lakh.

On the other hand, two months statutory interim bail has been granted to Koda, Gupta, Joshi, and Basu to lodge plea in the High Court.

 Madhu Koda was found guilty in the case of illegitimate allocation of a coal block in Jharkhand to a Kolkata-based organization.

The allocation of the Rajhara North coal block is one of the occurrences of alleged bungling allocation of coal blocks for the duration of 2004 to 2009.

The coal scam grabbed the headlines in 2012 following a Central government audit exposed that the nation had mislaid of up to Rs 1.86 lakh crore because of the inefficient allocation of coal blocks. (NT)