Supreme Court Gives Former PM Manmohan Singh Clean Chit in Coal Block Allocation Scam

MORE THAN 11 YEARS after being summoned as an accused in the coal block allotment scam case and two years after his death, former Prime Minister of India Manmohan Singh has been given a clean chit in the case. On Wednesday, July 29, 2026, the Supreme Court accepted the Central Bureau of Investigation’s (CBI) decision to close the case against him.

A bench of Chief Justice of India Surya Kant, Justice Joymalya Bagchi, and Justice V Mohana accepted the CBI’s decision to close the case against Singh, who passed away on December 26, 2024, and allowed his appeal challenging the summoning order issued to him by a trial court in 2015 regarding the case. 

The coal block allocation scam, infamously known as the “Coalgate scam” was a major political scandal in India. Dr Manmohan Singh was summoned by a special CBI court in relation to this case.

Coal Allocation Scam Case: Manmohan Singh Gets Clean Chit after 11 years

On March 11, 2015, Special Judge Bharat Parashar who was presiding over trials in the coal block allotment case, issued summons to Singh in the case relating to irregular allocation of Talabira-ll coal block in Odisha to Hindalco mining company, owned by Aditya Birla Group’s Chairperson Kumar Mangalam Birla. Manmohan Singh held the charge of the coal ministry at the time of the allocation in question, which was in 2005.

See also: Dr. Manmohan Singh Could Never Return to His Village Gah in Pakistan, But The Villagers Still Remember Him Fondly as ‘The Village Boy Who Became Prime Minister’

The CBI, who was investigating the case under the SC’s monitoring, had filed two successive pleas on August 27, 2014 and October 21, 2014, that recommended closing the case against Singh. The bureau’s closure report submitted there was no prosecutable evidence against Singh. Special Judge Bharat Parashar, however, declined the pleas. 

Singh moved the Supreme Court to challenge the trial court’s summons. On April 1, 2015, a division bench of the Supreme Court, comprising Justices V Gopala Gowda and C Nagappan, stayed the summoning order.

On Wednesday, July 29, 2026, as the SC bench was hearing a batch case related to the coal allocation scam case, Senior advocate and the former PM’s counsel Kapil Sibal reminded the court about the former Prime Minister’s appeal that was pending for consideration. Sibal requested the Supreme Court bench to dispose of the appeal in view of Singh’s demise.

In its court order, the Supreme Court remarked: “We are satisfied that there were no compelling reasons for the learned sessions judge to turn down the closure reports by the CBI and to take cognisance. Consequently, we allow the SLP and set aside the impugned orders of the learned special judge and as a result thereto accept the closure reports filed by the CBI and close the matter on merits.”

What was the Coal Allocation Scam Case?

The case relates to the allocation of the Talabira-II and III coal blocks located in Odisha’s Jharsuguda district in 2005. The blocks were jointly allotted to Hindalco Industries (an Aditya Birla Group company) and two other firms. In an audit report, the Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) alleged that the Government of India at that time inefficiently allotted the coal block to firms. Consequently, a CBI probe was instigated into this matter to assess whether the allocation process was influenced by corruption. 

See also: I-PAC Director and Co-founder Vinesh Chandel Arrested by ED in Bengal Coal Scam Case Ahead of West Bengal Assembly Election 2026 Polls

The CBI had booked Kumar Mangalam Birla (then non-executive chairman of Hindalco), P.C. Parakh (then coal secretary), and other Hindalco officials under various sections, including criminal conspiracy and criminal misconduct by government officials. Manmohan Singh, the then Prime Minister of India who also held the Coal Ministry portfolio at that time, was summoned by a special CBI court on the charge of facilitating windfall profits to a private company.

When Manmohan Singh’s appeal was heard by the Supreme Court, senior counsel Kapil Sibal, appearing for him, argued that the former Prime Minister had not committed any illegality in allotting the coal blocks to Hindalco.

Sibal contended that Singh had taken an administrative decision and that allotting a mine to a particular company was not illegal  as there wasn't any statutory prohibition regarding the same. Sibal strongly objected to the trial court issuing summons to Singh despite the CBI filing two closure reports in the matter.

(Proofread by Anshika Verma)

Suggested reading: