New Delhi, March 27 -- A Special Court in New Delhi on Friday acquitted former Rajya Sabha MP Vijay Darda, businessman Manoj Kumar Jaiswal, and former Coal Secretary H C Gupta in a case related to the allocation of the Bandar Coal Block in Maharashtra, holding that the prosecution failed to establish charges of cheating, criminal conspiracy, or misconduct.

The matter, arising out of the first chargesheet filed by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in the coal allocation cases, was decided by Special CBI Judge Sunena Sharma at the RADC Courts, New Delhi. The Court also acquitted Devendra Darda and AMR Iron and Steel Private Limited, bringing an end to a trial that continued for over a decade.

The CBI had registered several cases i...