Aditya Birla Group’s flagship company Hindalco Ltd reiterated that the company and its officials had followed the law of the land to obtain the Talabira-II coal block in Odisha.

“None of our officials, including Chairman Kumar Mangalam Birla, have pursued any unlawful or inappropriate means for securing the allocation of coal blocks. We will defend our case through the legal process,” the company said in a statement on Wednesday.

The statement was issued after a Delhi court on Wednesday summoned former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, former Coal Secretary PC Parakh, Birla and other officials of Hindalco in the coal block allocation case.

Birla has been vociferous about Hindalco’s innocence. According to media reports, Birla wrote to the employees in February that his actions to pursue Hindalco’s request for the coal blocks was in the best interests of the company and its shareholders.

“In 2005, Hindalco’s projects were seeking coal allocation and the same was denied despite its valid claim. I, as the non-executive chairman of the company, did what I thought was right and what was in the best interest of the company and its shareholders, that is, to represent to the then Coal Minister (who was also the Prime Minister at the time) and the coal secretary highlighting the merits of our claim,” Birla had reportedly told his employees.

‘Legitimate interest’

“We pursued our legitimate business interest in the most appropriate way we could. I am confident that our investigating agencies and judicial systems will see through the divide between the legitimate and illegitimate,” the letter said.

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