New Delhi [India], July 29 : The Supreme Court on Wednesday set aside legal proceedings initiated against late Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh in a coal block allocation case, holding that the Special CBI Court was not justified in rejecting the Central Bureau of Investigation's closure reports and summoning him as an accused.
Dr Singh had been accused along with five others in the case. A Bench led by Chief Justice of India Surya Kant accepted the two closure reports filed by the CBI after investigation, set aside the March 11, 2015 order of the Special Judge taking cognisance of offences under Sections 120-B and 409 of the IPC, and closed the matter on merits. Manmohan Singh passed away in December 2024.
"It will be noted at the outset that the CBI, after investigation, filed two separate closure reports," the Bench observed while framing the issue before it. The Court said the appeals required it to examine whether there were valid reasons for the Special Judge to reject those reports and proceed against the accused. After examining the material, the Bench held that it was "satisfied" that there were no reasons for the Special Judge to turn down the closure reports. "Consequently, we allow this appeal, set aside the impugned judgment of the learned Special Judge, accept the closure reports filed by the CBI and close the matter on merits," the Court held.
The proceedings arose out of allegations relating to the allocation of coal blocks during the UPA government, where it was alleged that Manmohan Singh, who was then also holding the Coal Ministry portfolio, had improperly approved the allocation of a coal block to Hindalco. On March 11, 2015, the Special CBI Court had rejected the CBI's closure reports and summoned former PM as an accused along with five others.
The summoning order was stayed by the Supreme Court on April 1, 2015. Dr Singh had challenged the order, contending that it sought to criminalise an administrative decision taken in the discharge of official functions despite the investigating agency itself concluding that no case for prosecution was made out. Wednesday's judgment accepts the CBI's closure reports and brings the proceedings to a close.
Reacting to the development, Rajya Sabha MP Kapil Sibal, who also represented Manmohan Singh in the case, hailed the decision as a "moment of great satisfaction".
"A moment of great satisfaction for Dr Singh's family, well wishers and for me personally The cognisance taken by the special court was set aside today by the Supreme Court This is a vindication of his righteousness," said Sibal on X.