NEW DELHI (Sputnik) — Indian Supreme Court on Wednesday suspended legal proceedings against former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on accusations of participation in a coal scam.
The court issued a notice to the Central Bureau of Investigation, saying that Singh will not have to appear in the investigation court as an accused on April 8.
Last month, Singh was summoned to court, accused of criminal conspiracy and breach of trust. The former prime minister was allegedly involved in unlawfully awarding a coal field in eastern India to Hindalco, an Indian aluminum manufacturer, in 2005.
Singh was overseeing the Coal Ministry at the time of the deal, something the country's Bharatiya Janata Party claims meant he was aware of the scam. Singh has repeatedly stated that approval for the coal field allocation followed due process.
In 2012, an auditor said that Singh's government sold some 200 coal fields leases to private enterprises at artificially low prices. The government reportedly lost over $30 billion due to the scam.
