Coal block allocation case: SC closes case against former PM Manmohan Singh

The Supreme Court on Wednesday closed a criminal case against former prime minister Manmohan Singh in a coal block allocation case while setting aside a summoning order passed against him. Singh, who passed away on December 27, 2024, now stands formally acquitted in the high-profile criminal case.

A bench comprising Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justices Joymalya Bagchi and V Mohana accepted the CBI’s closure report giving a clean chit to the former PM and others.

The top court said there was no reason for the trial court judge to turn down the closure reports of the CBI and take cognisance.

“Due to the unfortunate demise of the appellant, this appeal could be disposed of as infructuous. But with a view to consider the aspect of the ld. spl. judge taking cognisance and summoning the appellant, we have gone through both closure reports filed by the CBI.

“Having regard to the relevant parameters consistently laid down by this court on acceptance of reports of the investigating agency, we are satisfied that there was no reason for the ld. judge to turn down the closure reports of the CBI and take cognisance. We allow the appeal and set aside the impugned judgment. As a result, we accept the closure reports of the CBI and close the matter,” the bench said.

Singh, industrialist Kumar Mangalam Birla, ex-coal secretary P. C. Parakh and three others were summoned as accused by a special court in a coal scam case pertaining to the allocation of the Talabira-II coal block in Odisha in 2005.

The Supreme Court, however, intervened and stayed the directive.

Singh had questioned the absence of the mandated sanction for prosecuting public officials like him, and denied any criminality in his decision concerning the coal block allocation.

Special CBI Judge Bharat Parashar had summoned the six accused for the alleged offences punishable under Sections 120B (criminal conspiracy) and 409 (criminal breach of trust by public servant, or by banker, merchant or agent) of the IPC and under the provisions of the Prevention of Corruption Act (PCA).

Besides these three, the court had also summoned M/s Hindalco, its officials Shubhendu Amitabh and D. Bhattacharya as accused in the case.

The case pertains to the allocation of the Talabira-II coal block in Odisha to M/s Hindalco in 2005, when the then Prime Minister Singh was holding the coal portfolio.

The CBI, in its FIR, had named Parakh, Birla, M/s Hindalco Industries Ltd and other unknown persons for alleged offences under Section 120-B (criminal conspiracy) of the IPC and under the provisions of the PCA.

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