Coal scam: Delhi court allows Naveen Jindal to travel abroad between Feb 1 to 20

New Delhi: A Delhi court on Tuesday allowed Congress leader and industrialist Naveen Jindal, accused in three cases related to alleged irregularities in the allocation of coal blocks, to travel to several countries, including the US, UK, Italy and Spain, from February 1 to 20.

Special Judge Arun Bhardwaj allowed Jindal's application, noting he had travelled abroad several times in the past and returned to India to face trial within the stipulated period.

The judge noted that out of three matters, in only one matter being probed by the CBI the prosecution evidence was being recorded and the accused has “already undertaken that he will not dispute his identity and will not question the legitimacy of proceedings conducted in his absence and in the presence of his counsel on the ground of his absence during such period of travel.”

“Therefore, considering the overall facts and circumstances of the case, in the opinion of this Court, the accused is entitled to the permission of the Court to travel abroad to Mozambique, Italy, Spain, Czech Republic, UK, USA and Venezuela from February 1 to 20, 2024,” the judge said.

The judge directed Jindal to furnish a fixed deposit of Rs 1 crore and not to tamper with any evidence or try to influence any witness in any manner.

One of the cases in which Jindal is an accused pertains to irregularities in the allocation of the Amarkonda Murgadangal coal block in Jharkhand, which is being probed by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).

A separate money laundering case is being probed by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in relation to the allocation of the coal block.

The third case being probed by the CBI relates to the alleged irregularities in the allocation of Urtan North coal block in Madhya Pradesh.