New Delhi: Delhi’s Patiala court on Monday granted bail to industrialist and Congress leader Naveen Jindal and 14 others, accused of money laundering in a case pertaining to irregularities in the allocation of a Jharkhand coal block.

Special Judge Bharat Parashar granted the relief on a personal bond of Rs 1 lakh and one surety of the like amount.

The case filed under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) pertains to the allocation of the Amarkonda Murgadangal coal block in Jharkhand.

In its final to the court, the Enforcement Directorate had said  Jindal’s firm Jindal Steel and Power Limited and others had influenced the screening committee to allot the coal block by paying kickbacks worth Rs 2 crore. In July, the agency had filed a chargesheet against Jindal and 14 others.

In August, the court had asked all the accused to appear before it on October 15 on charges of money laundering. Later, additional charges of abetment of bribery against Jindal in the case were framed. 

Besides Jindal, court granted bail to Jindal Steel and Power Ltd’s then adviser Anand Goel, Mumbai’s Essar Power Ltd’s Executive Vice-Chairman Sushil Kumar Maroo, Nihar Stocks Ltd’s Director BSN Suryanarayan, Mumbai-based KE International’s Chief Financial Officer Rajeev Aggarwal and Gurgaon-based Green Infra’s Vice-President Siddharth Madra.


(With agency inputs)