The Supreme Court on Wednesday accepted the Central Bureau of Investigation's (CBI) closure report in the coal block allocation case involving former Prime Minister late Manmohan Singh, bringing the long-pending proceedings against him to an end.

A Bench comprising Chief Justice of India Surya Kant, Justice Joymalya Bagchi and Justice V. Mohana allowed Singh's appeal challenging the 2015 summons issued by a trial court in connection with the coal scam case.

The Court held that the trial court had no compelling reason to reject the CBI's closure reports and proceed against the former Prime Minister.

"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 cognizance. Consequently, we allow the SLP and set aside the impugned orders of the learned special judge and, as a result thereof, accept the closure reports filed by the CBI and close the matter on merits," the Bench said.

The ruling comes more than one-and-a-half years after Singh's demise on December 26, 2024.

During the hearing, Senior Advocate Kapil Sibal, appearing for Singh, urged the Court to ensure that the adverse observations made against the former Prime Minister were erased.

"I don't want these observations to be there," Sibal submitted.

Senior Advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi also represented Singh.

The matter dates back to 2015, when the Supreme Court stayed the summons issued to Singh by the special trial court. At the time, Singh was represented by a legal team that included Senior Advocates Kapil Sibal, Abhishek Manu Singhvi, K.T.S. Tulsi, Ashwani Kumar, Vivek Tankha and Harin P. Rawal.

Sibal had argued that the former Prime Minister's decision to allocate coal blocks to Hindalco, despite the Screening Committee's recommendation, was purely an administrative decision and did not amount to any illegality.

He contended that there was no statutory prohibition on allotting coal blocks to private entities and that merely differing from the Screening Committee's recommendation could not constitute a criminal offence.

The Supreme Court was also informed that the special court had issued summons despite the CBI filing two closure reports in the case. The apex court had consequently stayed further proceedings against Singh.

With Wednesday's order, the Supreme Court has accepted the CBI's closure reports, set aside the trial court's orders, and formally closed the case against the former Prime Minister.

Senior Advocate R.S. Cheema and Special Public Prosecutor A. Karthik appeared on behalf of the CBI.