India ex-PM is Caught in Coal Corruption Scandal
India’s former prime minister Manmohan Singh has been summoned to court following his alleged involvement in a coal mining licenses scandal.
Mr Singh is one of six men who face accusations of criminal conspiracy and have been ordered to appear in court next month concerning corruption charges.
Federal auditors found that rights to coalfields were sold off cheaply in 2012, resulting in the country losing out on £20bn.
India’s Supreme Court has cancelled the majority of the coal mining licenses allocated by the government since 1999, stating that they were illegal.
The court summoning of Mr Singh is due to a coal mining license awarded in 2005 when he was prime minister and held the coal ministry portfolio, a matter which he has already been questioned regarding by the federal Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).
The ex-prime minister said concerning the allegations that he was “open for legal scrutiny” and that the “truth will prevail”.
“I will be able to establish my total innocence. Of course I am upset, but this is part of life,” Mr Singh said.
Mr Singh faces a sentence to life in jail if found guilty of the charges, though this is said to be unlikely.
