SC reserves verdict on coal blocks

New Delhi: The Supreme Court Tuesday reserved its verdict on the fate of 218 coal blocks whose allocation since 1993 it had held to be arbitrary, non-transparent and illegal.

The apex court bench headed by Chief Justice R.M. Lodha reserved the verdict after a day-long hearing on the consequences of its earlier decision, holding that the process of the allocation of these coal mines by the steering committee and under government dispensation was arbitrary and illegal.

At the outset of the hearing, the central government Tuesday told the court that it favoured auction of all the 218 blocks, but if the court so considered then 40 coal blocks which are already in production for years and six other coal blocks in which production can commence any time may be exempted.