"Supreme Court accepts CBI closure report in coal block allocation case"
Closure Report
A final report filed by an investigating agency under Section 173 CrPC concluding insufficient evidence to prosecute.
Cognisance
A court's formal acknowledgement of an offence, enabling it to proceed against an accused; precedes summoning.
The coal block allocation controversy emerged as one of the most significant governance and accountability episodes in post-liberalisation India. The Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) of India, in a report tabled in Parliament, estimated that the discretionary allocation of coal blocks to private and public entities — without competitive bidding — resulted in a notional loss to the exchequer running into lakhs of crores of rupees. The Supreme Court of India, in a landmark ruling in 2014, cancelled 214 out of 218 coal block allocations made between 1993 and 2010, holding the entire allocation process to be arbitrary and unconstitutional, violating Article 14 (right to equality) of the Constitution.
The legal proceedings that followed involved the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), which was directed by the Supreme Court to investigate criminal culpability under the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988 (PC Act). Special courts were designated to hear these cases. The episode raised foundational questions about the relationship between investigative agencies, special trial courts, and the supervisory jurisdiction of the Supreme Court — questions that remain central to India's anti-corruption architecture.
At the heart of this case are three interlocking legal concepts: the closure report, the power of a court to take cognisance, and the supervisory role of the Supreme Court over subordinate courts.
A closure report (also called a final report under Section 173 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973) is filed by an investigating agency when it concludes, after investigation, that there is insufficient evidence to prosecute an accused. The filing of a closure report does not automatically end the matter — the magistrate or special judge has the discretion to accept or reject it. If the court rejects the closure report, it may take cognisance of the offence and proceed to summon the accused. This judicial discretion is meant to serve as a check on investigative agencies that may be influenced by executive pressure to close cases prematurely. …
With reference to Indian judiciary, consider the following statements:
1.Any retired judge of the Supreme Court of India can be called back to sit and act as a Supreme Court judge by the Chief Justice of India with prior permission of the President of India.
2.In India, any High Court has the power to review its own judgement as the Supreme Court does.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
The power to increase the number of judges in the Supreme Court of India is vested in
The power of the Supreme Court of India to decide disputes between the Centre and the States falls under its
With reference to closure reports in Indian criminal law, consider the following statements:
1.A closure report is filed by an investigating agency under Section 173 of the Code of Criminal Procedure when it finds insufficient evidence to prosecute.
2.Once a closure report is filed, the magistrate or special judge is bound to accept it and cannot take cognisance of the offence.
3.The Supreme Court has held that a court rejecting a closure report must identify specific infirmities in the investigation and cannot merely substitute its own assessment of the evidence.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
The Supreme Court of India cancelled the majority of coal block allocations made between 1993 and 2010 on the ground that the allocation process was arbitrary and violated which Article of the Constitution?
Consider the following statements about the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988:
1.It was amended in 2018 to criminalise bribe-giving in addition to bribe-taking.
2.Special courts designated under the Act have the power to reject closure reports filed by the CBI and take cognisance of offences.
3.Under the 2018 amendment, prior approval of a competent authority is required before a public servant can be arrested for corruption offences.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
Which of the following best describes the term 'taking cognisance' in the context of Indian criminal procedure?
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