Coal Block Scam: Supreme Court Closed Criminal Case Against Former PM Manmohan Singh
Supreme Court of India has closed the coal block scam case against former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. The case was mainly about how the Talabira II coal block was given out during the UPA rule.
New Delhi: The Supreme Court has closed the criminal case against former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in a coal block scam matter. The case was about how the Talabira II coal block was given out during the UPA government's time.
Back in 2015, a special CBI court had rejected closure reports filed by the CBI and had ordered Singh and some others to stand trial. Singh challenged that order in the Supreme Court.
Now, a three-judge bench led by Chief Justice Surya Kant, along with Justices Joymalya Bagchi and V Mohana, has ruled in his favour. The judges said there was no good reason to reject the CBI's closure reports or to take action against Singh. They said they carefully went through both closure reports with help from senior lawyers on both sides, and found no solid grounds for the special court's earlier decision.
Singh passed away in December 2024 at the age of 92. Even though the case could have simply been dropped as pointless after his death, the court chose to still look into it because the trial court had made negative remarks about him. The judges felt those remarks needed to be reviewed properly.
Senior lawyer Kapil Sibal, representing Singh, argued that the case may have become technically pointless, but the harsh comments made by the trial court still needed to be looked at and removed. He reportedly told the court that the mood of the country was different back then compared to now.
In its final order, the bench set aside the March 2015 judgment and cancelled the order that had summoned Singh for trial.
During the hearing, lawyers also asked if this decision would affect other related appeals linked to the same 2015 judgment. The court made it clear that this ruling was only about Singh's role in his official capacity, and it will not affect the other connected cases.
With this order, the Supreme Court has accepted the CBI's closure reports, cancelled the earlier order against Singh, and officially closed the criminal case against him.
English
