New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Wednesday quashed a 2015 order of a Special CBI Court summoning former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in a coal block allocation case, holding that there was no justification for rejecting the Central Bureau of Investigation’s (CBI) closure reports that had exonerated him.
A Bench comprising Chief Justice of India Surya Kant and Justices Joymalya Bagchi and V. Mohana allowed Singh’s appeal, accepted the CBI’s closure reports giving him a clean chit and closed the proceedings against him.
As reported by LiveLaw, the Supreme Court examined the legality of the Special Judge’s order despite Singh’s demise in December 2024, observing that the adverse findings recorded against the former Prime Minister warranted judicial scrutiny and could not be allowed to remain on record.
Senior Advocate Kapil Sibal, appearing for Singh, submitted that while the appeal could technically have become infructuous after his death, the adverse observations made by the trial court required to be set aside. The CBI, represented by Senior Advocate R.S. Cheema, informed the Bench that certain legal issues survived in connected matters, while Senior Advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi argued that the remarks against Singh should be erased.
The Bench noted that the Special CBI Court had taken cognisance under the Prevention of Corruption Act against six persons, including the former Prime Minister, even though the CBI had filed closure reports after its investigation, finding no prosecutable evidence against him.
Observing that it had examined both closure reports, the Supreme Court held that the Special Judge had failed to apply the settled legal principles governing the acceptance of closure reports filed by investigating agencies.
“There was no reason for the learned Judge to turn down the closure reports of the CBI and take cognisance,” the Bench observed, adding that the Special Judge’s decision could not be sustained in law.
“Consequently, we allow the appeal and set aside the impugned judgment dated 11 March 2015 and the consequential order summoning the appellant to face trial,” the court said.
The order was passed during the hearing of a batch of matters relating to the coal block allocation cases, where the Bench also considered whether certain remaining legal issues required adjudication by the Supreme Court or could be dealt with by the respective High Courts.
Manmohan Singh had challenged the trial court’s order after it refused to accept the CBI’s closure reports and summoned him as an accused in connection with the allocation of the Talabira-II coal block. The Supreme Court’s ruling effectively vindicates the former Prime Minister by affirming that the investigating agency’s decision to close the case against him ought to have been accepted.
