The High Court on Tuesday directed Bharat Earth Movers Limited (BEML), a defence PSU, to furnish documents pertaining to the source from which iron ore had been obtained and exported.
The Court was hearing a plea by Subramanya Shastry, an Andhra Pradesh-based share holder of BEML, who has alleged that Rs 118-crore worth iron ore was illegally exported by the company during the financial year 2007-08 without bill of lading.
The petitioner had sought the Court’s directions to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to prosecute Beml Chairperson and Managing Director V R S Natarajan. The petitioner in his submission has accused the chairperson of misusing the office.
He has also alleged that the CMD in collusion with the mining mafia had cheated the State government to the tune of Rs 118 crore during the financial year of 2007-08. The petitioner further sought directions to the CBI to conduct an investigation and submit a report to the Court periodically.
The respondents, however, submitted that BEML has entered into a joint venture with the Andhra Pradesh-based company Midwest Private Ltd. As a result, the company should be directed to submit the records. However, the counsel R G Kolle said the State government needs to verify the movement of iron ore to ascertain if the exported ore was illegal or not. Also, Kolle sought mineral dispatch permits to find out the truth. The Division Bench comprising Chief Justice Vikramjit Sen and Justice B V Nagarathna directed the BEML to produce the records.