Coal scam: Only SC to hear pleas against special court orders

THE SC REFUSED TO “REVISIT” A 2014 ORDER WHICH HAD SAID ANY PRAYER FOR STAY OR IMPEDING PROGRESS IN THE PROBE OR TRIAL CAN BE MADE ONLY BEFORE APEX COURT

Supreme Court on Thursday said pleas challenging any interim order passed by a special court during the pendency of trial in coal block allocation scam cases will be entertained only by it.

A three-judge bench headed by Justice Madan B Lokur said that these cases were concerned with “large scale corruption” that had polluted the allocation of coal blocks and they form a “clear and distinct class” that need to be treated in a manner different from the usual cases dealt by the courts.

“The magnitude of the illegalities is such that it appears that even the integrity of the (then) Director of the CBI (Ranjit Sinha) was prima facie compromised, and this court had to intervene and direct investigations into the conduct of the director of the CBI,” the bench, also comprising justices Kurian Joseph and AK Sikri, said.

It refused to “re-visit” the July 25, 2014 order passed by the apex court which had made it clear that any prayer for stay or impeding the progress in the investigation or trial can be made only before the SC. The apex court observed that its order, barring the Delhi HC from entertaining challenge to special court’s interim order, was “not violative” of Article 14 (equality before law) of the Constitution.

“The order passed by this court does not amount to legislating in the classical mould but according special treatment to a class of cases for good and clear reason and in larger public interest as well as in the interest of the accused,” it noted.

The bench rejected the contention of petitioners, also including former coal secretary HC Gupta and industrialist and Congress leader Naveen Jindal, that due to the July 25 order, their statutory right has been restricted saying “remedies available to the appellants continue to be available to them except that the forum has been shifted from the high court to this court in larger public interest”.