A special court today dismissed the plea of an accused seeking to summon former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh as defence witness in a coal scam case. Special CBI Judge Bharat Parashar rejected the plea saying the application was “vexatious” and it was apparently moved to delay the trial.
The court also rejected the plea of the accused R S Rungta, Director of Jharkhand Ispat Pvt Ltd (JIPL), seeking to summon ex-Minister of State for Coal, Dasari Narayan Rao, as a witness in his defence. The case pertains to alleged irregularities in allocation of North Dhadu coal block in Jharkhand to the firm.