Delhi's special court on Wednesday (26 July) handed down a four-year prison sentence to former Rajya Sabha MP Vijay Darda in connection with the irregularities in the allocation of a coal block in Chhattisgarh.

His son, Devender Darda, and M/S JLD Yavatmal Energy Pvt Ltd's Director, Manoj Kumar Jayaswal, also received four years' imprisonment in the same case.

Additionally, former coal secretary HC Gupta and two senior public servants, KS Kropha, and KC Samria, were sentenced to three years and two years of imprisonment, respectively.

The verdict was delivered by Special Judge Sanjay Bansal, who had previously found all of them guilty in the case that caused significant ripples during the tenure of the then Prime Minister, Manmohan Singh.

The court convicted them under Section 120B (criminal conspiracy) and 420 (cheating) of the Indian Penal Code and relevant provisions of the Prevention of Corruption Act. However, they were acquitted under the charge of Criminal Breach of Trust by Public Servants (Section 409 IPC).

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) had informed the court that JLD Yavatmal Energy Limited obtained the Fatehpur East Coal Block in Chhattisgarh through a criminal conspiracy by misrepresenting facts on eligibility conditions.

This marks the thirteenth conviction in the Coal Scam-related cases, according to the CBI.