A special court on Wednesday granted bail to former Jharkhand Chief Minister Madhu Koda and seven others in a coal block allocation scam case.
Additional sessions judge Bharat Parashar granted bail to them on a personal bond of Rs. 1 lakh with one surety of a like amount by each accused.
The court restrained the accused from leaving the country without permission. It told them not to tamper with the evidence or meet the witnesses during the bail period.
Counsel for the Central Bureau of Investigation opposed the bail applications, submitting that a deep-rooted conspiracy was hatched by the accused and being persons with clout in politics, bureaucracy and industry they were capable of influencing the witnesses or tampering with the evidence.
But arguments by counsel for the accused that all of them participated in the investigation and there was no allegation by the investigating agency that they did not co-operate weighed with the court for grant of bail.The case relates to the allocation of a coal block to the private company Vini Iron and Steel Udyog Limited (VISUL) in Jharkhand’s Rajhara town allegedly in an illegal manner.
