Today, On 4th December, The Supreme Court, led by CJI Sanjiv Khanna, is set to review its earlier orders barring High Courts from hearing appeals in coal block allocation cases. During a hearing, the Chief Justice questioned the CBI’s stance that all appeals should only be directed to the apex court. The court emphasized the need for judicial efficiency and expressed interest in benefiting from Delhi High Court’s orders. The matter will be considered by a larger bench starting January 15, 2025.
New Delhi: The Supreme Court indicated it would review requests to modify its previous orders that prohibited high courts from hearing appeals against trial court rulings in cases related to alleged illegal coal block allocations.
Between 2014 and 2017, the apex court issued two orders that restricted defendants from approaching high courts, mandating that appeals against trial court decisions in coal scam cases could only be submitted to the Supreme Court.
The purpose of these orders was to expedite trial proceedings and prevent delays caused by defendants seeking relief in high courts.
A bench consisting of Chief Justice Sanjiv Khanna and Justice Sanjay Kumar reviewing pleas that requested the court to allow the Delhi High Court, as the appellate court, to address appeals arising from trial court decisions in coal scam cases.
Chief Justice Khanna questioned senior advocate R.S. Cheema, a special public prosecutor in CBI cases, asking,
“Is this the stand of the CBI that everything should come to us?”
The bench added,
“We also want to benefit from Delhi High Court orders passed in these cases.”
Senior advocate Mukul Rohatgi, representing a litigant, argued that the high court should not be prevented from hearing appeals and discharge pleas in these cases.
Lawyer Prashant Bhushan, representing the NGO ‘Common Cause,’ noted that the original orders aimed to ensure the trial process was not obstructed by defendants moving to the high court against interlocutory orders from the trial court.
The bench stated that since the orders were issued by a three-judge panel, the matter would be scheduled before a bench of the same composition during the week starting January 15, 2025.
In 2014, the top court annulled 214 coal blocks allocated by the Centre from 1993 to 2010, following public interest litigations (PILs) and ordered a trial to be conducted by a special CBI judge.
The bench had mandated that any requests for a stay or to hinder the investigation or trial could only be made before the Supreme Court, effectively preventing other courts from considering such pleas.
Additionally, a separate bench led by Justice Abhay S. Oka previously issued a notice to the Enforcement Directorate, seeking clarification on whether the bar established in earlier rulings restricting any requests for a stay or hindrance to the investigation or trial in coal block allocation cases to the Supreme Court also applied to complaints filed under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).
The issue at hand was whether the restrictions in the earlier orders required clarification, especially regarding their applicability to PMLA cases linked to the coal block allocation scam.
The CBI filed 57 cases in the coal scam, alongside several related money laundering cases.