On June 6, 2025, a Delhi court acquitted three former Ministry of Coal officials—H.C. Gupta (former secretary), K.S. Kropha (former joint secretary), and K.C. Samaria (former director of coal allocation)—in a case involving alleged irregularities in the allocation of the Mahuagarhi coal block in Jharkhand to JAS Infrastructure Capital Pvt Ltd. The court found insufficient evidence to establish wrongdoing by the officials in the allocation process.

This acquittal is part of a broader trend where courts have recently discharged or acquitted these officials in multiple coal block allocation cases due to lack of evidence. For instance, in April 2025, they were discharged in the Mednirai coal block case, and in December 2024, they were acquitted in a case related to coal blocks in Odisha.

These developments mark a significant shift in the legal proceedings related to the coal allocation cases that emerged during the UPA era.

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