TaxTMI 
TaxTMI 
TaxTMI 
2024 (4) TMI 1294
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....are that this case pertains to allocation of 105.153 hectares of non-nationalized, abandoned coal mining area in district Giridih, Jharkhand in favour of M/s. Castron Technologies Ltd. by 14th Screening Committee, Ministry of Coal, Government of India. It was the case of the prosecution that after the allegations of corruption came to be leveled against certain public servants, an examination on the allocation of various coal blocks to private companies was started by the Central Vigilance Commission. Thereafter, the Central Vigilance Commission had made a reference to Central Bureau of Investigation after finding sufficient material. The Central Bureau of Investigation had initially conducted certain preliminary enquiries in the matter. However, when sufficient incriminating material qua such allocation of coal blocks came on record during the course of enquiry warranting detailed investigation, then a number of regular cases were registered including the present case against company M/s CTL, company M/s CML, their directors and also against unknown public servants and private persons for the offences under Section 120-B/420 of Indian Penal Code, 1860 (IPC), and Section 13(1)(d) r....
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....ex Court on the subject. It is further stated that the applicant has clean antecedents and he has never been convicted in any other case besides the one which is the subject matter of the present appeal. It is argued that the pending appeal deals with substantial legal and factual questions that warrant careful consideration of this Court. However, it is imperative that the appellant's future not be left in limbo solely due to the existing conviction. Thus, it is argued that it would be in the interest of justice to ensure that undue harm is not inflicted on the democratic process or the rights of the electorate while the process of hearing appeal unfolds, and the applicant is thus allowed to contest the upcoming elections by suspending his conviction in the present case. 4. Per contra, learned Senior counsel appearing on behalf of CBI argues that the applicant by abusing his official position as Minister of State for Coal, and by breaching the trust reposed in him by virtue of his office, had misappropriated an abandoned coal mining area of Brahmadiha Coal Block, which was not in the identified list of captive coal blocks under the Coal Mines (Nationalization) Act, 1973 ('CMN....
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.... this Court, and the present applicant is before this Court at this stage seeking suspension of conviction on the ground that he has to contest upcoming Odisha Assembly Elections, which are scheduled to take place in 2024 itself. 7. For the purpose of deciding the present application, which pertains to suspension of conviction on the ground of contesting of upcoming elections, this Court deems it appropriate to refer to the recent judgment of Hon'ble Supreme Court in the case of Afjal Ansari (supra). The relevant portion of the judgment reads as under: "...15. It becomes manifestly evident from the plain language of the provision, that the appellate court is unambiguously vested with the power to suspend implementation of the sentence or the order of conviction under appeal and grant bail to the incarcerated convict, for which it is imperative to assign the reasons in writing. This Court has undertaken a comprehensive examination of this issue on multiple occasions, laying down the broad parameters to be appraised for the suspension of a conviction under Section 389(1) CrPC. There is no gainsaying that in order to suspend the conviction of an individual, the primary factors that....
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....nding upon the facts of a case. However, where conviction, if allowed to operate would lead to irreparable damage and where the convict cannot be compensated in any monetary terms or otherwise, if he is acquitted later on, that by itself carves out an exceptional situation. Having applied the specific criteria outlined hereinabove to the present factual matrix, it is our considered view that the appellant's case warrants an order of stay on his award of conviction, though partially. 21. We say so primarily for the reason that the potential ramifications of declining to suspend such a conviction are multifaceted. On the one hand, it would deprive the Appellant's constituency of its legitimate representation in the Legislature, since a bye-election may not be held given the remainder tenure of the current Lok Sabha. Conversely, it would also impede the Appellant's ability to represent his constituency based on the allegations, the veracity whereof is to be scrutinised on a re-appraisal of the entire evidence in the First Criminal Appeal pending before the High Court. This would potentially lead to de facto incarceration of the Appellant for a period of four years under the UP ....
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....iscuss the same in detail or go into the merit of the same, since that would amount to adjudicating the merit of the case itself at this stage, which will be inappropriate. At this stage, this Court is only required to test the facts of the case on the anvil of law laid down by Hon'ble Apex Court to reach a conclusion as to whether in the peculiar facts and the plea raised before this Court, it will be in the interest of justice and in consonance with judicial precedents to suspend the conviction of the applicant. 11. In this regard, this Court is of the opinion that the applicant herein has a long political career. He has remained the Union Minister on several occasions as well as the State Minister in the Odisha Government. He is 71 years of age and wishes to contest elections to be held in the month of May, 2024 and serve his constituency and the country. It is not as if he has expressed his desire to do so only for the purpose of suspension of his conviction by contesting the election for the first time. He has a political career running into more than 35 years. As noted above, the elections are to be held in the year 2024, he is 71 years of age, and multiple appeals and cross....