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Supreme Court Quashes 2015 Summons, Closes Case Against Manmohan Singh

By accepting the CBI's closure reports the court removed adverse trial-court findings against the late prime minister, leaving other connected legal issues to proceed separately.

Image: IANS
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The Supreme Court closed a criminal case against Manmohan Singh in a coal block allocation case, setting aside a summoning order passed against him.
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Overview

  • A three-judge bench led by Chief Justice Surya Kant set aside the March 11, 2015 summoning order and accepted the CBI's closure reports for Manmohan Singh, formally closing the criminal proceedings against him.
  • The court examined the merits despite Singh's death in December 2024 and agreed with his lawyers that the special judge had no cogent reason to reject two CBI closure reports that found no prosecutable case.
  • The 2015 special CBI court had taken cognisance and summoned six persons over the 2005 Talabira-II coal block allocation to Hindalco after rejecting the agency's reports, prompting Singh to challenge that order in the Supreme Court.
  • The bench applied established legal parameters for when courts may accept or reject investigating agencies' closure reports, saying the trial judge failed to follow those principles in taking cognisance.
  • The ruling vindicates Singh's record in this matter but leaves other accused and pending legal questions—including challenges to parts of the Prevention of Corruption Act and related appeals—to be decided in separate proceedings.