<div>The Supreme Court ended its hearing on Tuesday (9 September) into whether it would cancel the award of more than 200 coal blocks it had previously ruled illegal, with Chief Justice Rajendra Mal Lodha saying it would reserve judgment to an unspecified later date.<br /><br />The court last month found that the country's decades-old method of granting coal mining concessions was illegal, putting investments worth billions of dollars at risk and threatening to worsen a national coal shortage.<br /><br />The blocks include about 40 that are producing coal, estimated to have a capacity of about 9 per cent of the 566 million tonnes India produced last year.<br /><br />A decision to cancel the blocks would hit firms including Jindal Steel and Power Ltd, Hindalco Industries Ltd and Sesa Sterlite Ltd, which have spent heavily on steel and power plants based around the coal blocks.<br /><br />India is suffering from an acute shortage of coal, which fuels about three-fifths of its power needs, and has had to turn to costly imports to meet rapidly growing demand.<br /><br />The government's top lawyer, Attorney General Mukul Rohatgi told the court on Tuesday that if coal block allocations are cancelled, the government was ready to re-auction the blocks.<br /><br />Rohatgi also said that if all blocks are cancelled, state giant Coal India should be allowed to take over active mines, or companies be allowed to continue production until the blocks are re-auctioned, in order to avoid supply disruptions.<br /><br />More than half of India's thermal power stations had less than a week's supply of coal on hand as of last Thursday, the lowest since mid-2012 when 620 million people in India were cut off in one of the world's worst blackouts.<br /><br />The government said the retention of 46 blocks which are in operation or are to be operated soon should be considered.<br /><br />In sum and substance, the cancellation of coal block allocation is a natural consequence, it said.<br /><br />An affidavit filed by the Ministry of Coal on Monday incorporated the statements made by the Attorney General Mukul Rohtagi on September 1 that the Centre has "no objection" to the cancellation of allocations declared as illegal by the the apex court and was also not insisting on any particular course of action.<br /><br />Giving details as directed by the Court about the 40 producing blocks and six likely to come under production during the year 2014-15, the affidavit said they "are estimated to produce about 50 million tonnes of Coal in the current year."<br /><br />The ministry placed before it the gist of information about mining lease, commencement of production and linked End-Use Production (EUP) investment received from allocatees of these 40 productional coal mines and six on verge of production.<br /><br />Out of 40 functional mines, two are allocated to an Ultra Mega Power Project (UMPP), which has not been declared as illegal by August 25 judgement, it said.<br /><br />Further, the affidavit said the six coal blocks which are likely to come under production were determined by the Coal Controller's Organization (CCO), as they have received mine opening permission under Rule 9 of the Colliery Control Rules, 2004 (fr(framed under MMDR ACT, 1957), which is the final step towards opening of the mines<br /><br /><strong>CBI To File Revised Closure Report In Court<br /></strong>CBI informed a special court that it will file a revised closure report giving details in a coal blocks allocation scam case allegedly involving JAS Infrastructure and Power Ltd and others in which the judge had observed that the probe was "incomplete".<br /><br />Special public prosecutor R S Cheema told the court that the agency will file a comprehensive revised closure report which would be "explanatory" in nature.<br /><br />CBI's move came after the court had earlier observed that nothing was clear in its closure report and it was irked over the agency adopting different yardsticks in different cases and not following a uniform policy in its investigation.<br /><br />After Cheema informed the court about filing of a revised closure report in the case, Special CBI Judge Bharat Parashar fixed the matter for September 23.<br /><br />"SPP (special public prosecutor) states that CBI will be filing a revised closure report under the provision of the CrPC which shall be detailed and explanatory in nature," the court said.<br /><br />The court was hearing arguments on the closure report filed by CBI in the case in which it had lodged FIR against Nagpur-based businessman Manoj Jayaswal and others for alleged irregularities by JAS Infrastructure and Power Limited in acquiring the coal blocks.<br /><br />The court had asked CBI whether it was a "deliberate act or negligent act" by Coal Ministry officials to clear files relating to allocation of coal blocks. It had also expressed dissatisfaction over the explanation given by CBI.<br /><br /><br />The court had observed that the issue in coal blocks allocation cases, including this case, was that there was loss to the exchequer but CBI's probe was silent on the aspect if "it was a deliberate act or negligent act on the part of the officials of Ministry of Coal" to allocate coal blocks to such firms.<br /><br />CBI had told the court that during its probe it had not found misrepresentation of facts by JAS Infrastructure and Power Limited.<br /><br />It had lodged an FIR in the case on the allegation that JAS Infrastructure and Power Ltd had not disclosed to the Coal Ministry that it was in possession of coal blocks earlier.<br /><br />The company allegedly signed memorandum of understanding for small periods with a number of companies and added their equity to project their sound financial status at the time of application for coal blocks, CBI had alleged in its FIR.<br /><br />However, during the investigation, CBI could not find any "prosecutable evidence" against the firm and others and filed a closure report in the case.<br /><br />(Agencies)<br /> </div>
