SC accepts CBI’s decision to clear ex-PM Manmohan Singh in alleged coal scam case

The Supreme Court on Wednesday accepted the Central Bureau of Investigation’s decision to close the case against former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in an alleged coal allocation scam, Bar and Bench reported.

A bench headed by Chief Justice Surya Kant allowed Singh’s appeal challenging the summons issued to him by a trial court in 2015.

The order came a year-and-a-half after the former prime minister died in December 2024.

On Wednesday, advocate Kapil Sibal told the court that while Singh’s appeal may have technically become infructuous, or no longer relevant, after his death, the trial court’s adverse observations against the former prime minister required judicial interference, Live Law reported. Sibal urged the court to expunge those observations.

The Supreme Court remarked that although Singh’s death meant that the appeal could be disposed of as infructuous, it was important to look into whether the trial court’s decision to summon him was legally valid.

The bench noted that the special judge had rejected the CBI’s closure report on Singh, and taken cognisance of the case under the Prevention of Corruption Act, Live Law reported. The court said that the special judge had failed to apply settled principles about the acceptance of closure reports.

The court said it was satisfied that “there was no reason for the learned judge to turn down the closure reports...

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