New Delhi, 29 July (H.S.): The Supreme Court has ordered the closure of the criminal case against former Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh (late) in the coal block allocation matter. A bench headed by Chief Justice of India Surya Kant passed the order after the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) submitted a closure report in the case.

The Supreme Court observed that there was no reason for the trial court to reject the CBI’s closure report. The court further noted that following the unfortunate demise of the former Prime Minister, continuing the hearing of his petition no longer served any purpose.

The case pertains to alleged irregularities in the allocation of the Talabira-II coal block in Odisha. The Rouse Avenue Court had earlier issued summons to former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, industrialist Kumar Mangalam Birla, former Coal Secretary P. C. Parakh and three others as accused in the matter.

The Supreme Court had intervened in the case and stayed the trial court’s order summoning the accused. Following the CBI’s closure report, the apex court has now brought the criminal proceedings against the former Prime Minister to an end.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar