4-yr jail to ex-MP Vijay Darda, son

New Delhi: A Delhi court on Wednesday awarded a four-year jail term to ex-Rajya Sabha MP Vijay Darda, his son Devender Darda, and businessman Manoj Kumar Jayaswal in a case related to irregularities in the allocation of a coal block in Chhattisgarh. All three convicts were taken into custody after the court order.

Special Judge Sanjay Bansal also sentenced ex-coal secretary H C Gupta and two former senior public servants K S Kropha and K C Samria to three years in jail. These three convicts were, however, granted bail on a personal bond by the court to enable them to challenge their conviction and punishment in the high court.

The court also imposed a fine of Rs 50 lakh on the company, JLD Yavatmal Energy Pvt Ltd, which was convicted in the case.

In the 13th conviction in the coal scam, a massive political scandal which rocked the erstwhile Manmohan Singh government, the court had on July 13 convicted seven accused under sections 120-B (criminal conspiracy) and 420 (cheating) of the IPC, and relevant provisions of the Prevention of Corruption Act.