Industrialist Naveen Jindal was the "central figure" in the entire criminal conspiracy in the Jharkhand's Amarkonda Murgadangal coal block allocation scam case, a Special court on Friday said while ordering framing of charges against the Congress leader and 14 others.

The court also said that a facade of companies was prima facie created as a "smokescreen" to cover up the "illegal" act of paying off Rs two crores to former MoS for Coal Dasari Narayan Rao by Jindal in lieu of favouring his two firms by securing allocation of a coal block in 2008.

Dealing with the materials placed before him by the prosecution, Special CBI Judge Bharat Parashar said, "the aforesaid discussion of the overall facts and circumstances prima facie show the nature of overt and covert acts on the part of accused 7, Naveen Jindal in the entire criminal conspiracy.

"In fact his role has come out to be that of a central figure around whom the entire criminal conspiracy revolved," the judge said in the 136-page order.

The court made the observations while ordering framing of charges against Jindal, Rao, former Jharkhand Chief Minister Madhu Koda and 12 others for the alleged offences of criminal conspiracy, cheating, criminal breach of trust under the IPC and sections of the Prevention of Corruption Act in the case.

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