Manmohan Singh Clean Chit: The Supreme Court of India has acquitted the late former Prime Minister of India , Dr. Manmohan Singh, in the highly controversial coal block allocation case. The Supreme Court has accepted the CBI’s closure report and quashed the summons order issued by the CBI special court in 2014. The Supreme Court also made it clear that there was no solid basis to take criminal action against the former Prime Minister. Dr. Manmohan Singh passed away on December 26, 2024, at the age of 92.
When did this case start?
The case began when a special CBI court summoned the then Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh as an accused in a case related to the allocation of coal blocks. At that time, he held the additional charge of the Coal Ministry along with the Prime Ministership. After receiving the summons, Dr. Manmohan Singh approached the Supreme Court in 2015. The then Chief Justice stayed the summons during the preliminary hearing, after which the case remained pending in the court for a long time.
There is no evidence against Manmohan Singh.
During this time, the CBI conducted a thorough investigation into the case and filed a closure report in the court, stating that there was not enough evidence to prosecute former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. However, the CBI court did not accept this closure report at that time. Now, after reviewing the CBI investigation and examining the documents, the Supreme Court has approved this closure report. It is noteworthy that the coal block allocation dispute remains one of the most controversial cases in the country, which has seen many inquiries and legal proceedings related to the allocation during the tenure of the UPA government. With the latest decision of the Supreme Court, the legal dispute pending against Dr. Manmohan Singh in this case has been completely settled.
What was the matter?
The coal scam is considered one of the biggest scams in the country. The investigation into this Rs 1.86 lakh crore scam has taken many turns. The case concerned the allocation of coal mines to 100 companies between 2004 and 2009. There were allegations of irregularities in the auction process of these mines. Coal mines were allocated to 100 companies, including several large companies, without auction. After investigating the case, the Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) submitted its report on the allocation of coal mines to Parliament. It revealed irregularities in the allocation of coal mines. The companies that got the mines included private and government companies operating in the power, steel and cement sectors.