Supreme Court Dismisses Criminal Case Against Former PM Manmohan Singh in Coal Allocation Matter

Supreme Court's Ruling on Coal Block Allocation Case

New Delhi, July 29 - The Supreme Court has officially closed the criminal case against former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh related to coal block allocations, overturning the order that summoned him as an accused. A bench comprising Chief Justice Suryakant, Justice Joymalya Bagchi, and Justice V. Mohan accepted the Central Bureau of Investigation's (CBI) 'closure report', which exonerated Singh and others involved.

The court stated that the subordinate court judge had no grounds to reject the CBI's 'closure report' and proceed with the case. The bench remarked, “Due to the unfortunate passing of the appellant, this appeal could have been deemed moot, but we chose to examine both closure reports submitted by the CBI regarding the special judge's decision to summon the appellant.”

Furthermore, the court noted, “Considering the standards established by this court regarding the acceptance of the investigation agency's report, we are satisfied that the special judge had no reason to dismiss the CBI's closure report. We accept the appeal and annul the disputed order. Consequently, we close the case while accepting the CBI's closure report.”

This case pertains to the alleged coal scam involving the allocation of the Talabira-II coal block in Odisha in 2005, where a special court had summoned former Prime Minister Singh, industrialist Kumar Mangalam Birla, former coal secretary P.C. Parekh, and three others as accused.

However, the Supreme Court intervened and placed a stay on this order.