Updated on: 29 Jul 2026
NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Wednesday closed the criminal proceedings against former Prime Minister late Manmohan Singh in a coal block allocation case and set aside the trial court’s order summoning him. With the court accepting the CBI’s closure report, Singh, who passed away on December 26, 2024, has been formally cleared in the case.
A bench comprising Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justices Joymalya Bagchi and V Mohana accepted the CBI’s closure report that gave a clean chit to Singh and other accused persons. The bench observed that there were no sufficient grounds for the sessions judge to reject the closure report and take cognisance of the matter.
The Supreme Court considered the submissions of senior advocates Kapil Sibal and Abhishek Manu Singhvi, who argued that although the appeal could technically have become infructuous after Singh’s demise, it was necessary to examine the legality of the Special Judge’s order as it contained adverse observations against the former Prime Minister.
“Consequently, we allow the SLP (Special Leave Petition) and set aside the impugned orders of the learned special judge and, as a result, accept the closure reports filed by the CBI and close the matter on merits,” the bench said.
The court noted that, in view of the legal principles repeatedly laid down by the Supreme Court regarding acceptance of investigation reports, there was no valid reason for the Special Judge to reject the closure reports submitted by the CBI.
Singh, industrialist Kumar Mangalam Birla, former Coal Secretary P C Parakh and three others had been summoned by a special court in connection with the allocation of the Talabira-II coal block in Odisha in 2005.
Singh had challenged the trial court’s decision despite the CBI filing two closure reports clearing him in the case related to the allocation of coal blocks to Hindalco.
On April 1, 2015, the Supreme Court had stayed the summons issued against Singh, observing that the petitions raised important legal questions, including the constitutional validity of Section 13(1)(d)(iii) of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988.
At that time, senior advocate Kapil Sibal had argued that there was nothing illegal in Singh’s decision to allocate the coal block to Hindalco despite the recommendation of the Screening Committee. He said the decision was an administrative one taken in public interest and that the Special Judge could not question the executive’s assessment.
Sibal had also pointed out that the trial court issued summons despite the CBI submitting two closure reports in favour of Singh. With the Supreme Court now accepting those reports after more than a decade, the criminal proceedings against the former Prime Minister have been brought to an end.
