Supreme Court clears former PM Manmohan Singh in coal block case after his death
The Supreme Court dismissed the coal block allocation case against former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, granting him a clean chit two years after his passing.
A special bench of the Supreme Court nullified the earlier order that had summoned former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in the Talabira-II coal block allocation controversy, citing the Central Bureau of Investigation’s closure report. Singh had appealed the Delhi trial court’s decision, which had found prima facie evidence against him, industrialist Kumar Mangalam Birla, former coal secretary P C Parakh and others. The apex court stayed the summons in 2015 and, after a decade-long pendency, formally dismissed the case following Singh’s death on December 26, 2024.
The dispute centered on the alleged irregular award of the Odisha coal block to Hindalco Industries during the UPA tenure, when Singh also oversaw the coal ministry. With the matter now deemed infructuous, no further legal action will be taken against Singh. He was cremated with full state honors in New Delhi.
Why it matters
It ends a long-standing high-profile corruption probe, removing legal uncertainty for a former national leader.
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