1st LD Writethru: Indian Supreme Court stays summons to former PM Manmohan Singh over coal scam

India's Supreme Court Wednesday stayed the summons served to former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and five others by a special court in connection with the multi- billion dollar coal scam dubbed as coalgate.

This means that the 82-year-old former Prime Minister, who was last month summoned by the special court after being made an accused in one of the several cases pertaining to the coal scam, will not have to appear in that court next week.

Singh, who is being probed for criminal breach of trust, criminal conspiracy, cheating and corruption, is alleged to be awarded in 2005 a coalfield in the eastern Indian state of Odisha to Hindalco Industries, owned by billionaire Kumar Mangalam Birla, at a price much less than the then market rate.

Singh's counsel and former Indian Minister Kapil Sibal told the Supreme Court that there was no criminal intent and no quid pro quo in this particular case by Singh, who was also the Coal Minister at that time and a trail court has no right to question administrative decision.

When the former Prime Minister was made an accused by the special court of the country's premier probe agency, the Central Bureau of Investigation last month, the main opposition Congress party had called it a backlash against its opposition to economic reforms by the current government.

The scam was unearthed by the government auditor in 2012, which said that the then Congress government had undersold a number of the country's coalfields to private firms, thus causing a huge loss to the exchequer. Endi