Former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s famous words that “history will be kinder” to him than the contemporary media or opposition appear to have acquired fresh significance following the Supreme Court’s recent intervention in the coal block allocation case.

Singh had made the remark at his final press conference as Prime Minister in January 2014, at a time when his government faced relentless criticism over allegations of corruption and irregularities. On July 29, 2026, the Supreme Court effectively brought the long-running controversy to an end by upholding the CBI’s clean chit to Singh and setting aside the summoning order against him.

Reacting to the judgment, Congress Parliamentary Party chairperson Sonia Gandhi said Singh’s record of integrity and accountability stood in sharp contrast to the manner in which the Narendra Modi government has allegedly conducted itself.

Gandhi said history would indeed remember Singh as a “quiet, gentle, but most consequential” Prime Minister. She described the Supreme Court judgment as the conclusion of what she called one of the most tragic episodes in India’s public discourse—the alleged “witch-hunt” against a leader whose personal probity and integrity, she argued, were never adequately acknowledged.

Writing in The Indian Express, Gandhi alleged that the campaign against Singh was coordinated and involved sections of the bureaucracy, media, judiciary, civil society, the RSS and the BJP. She argued that the Supreme Court’s decision had brought the campaign to an inevitable conclusion and vindicated Singh.

“The date July 29, 2026, was an important but unacknowledged day in our recent political history,” Gandhi wrote, describing the ruling as a significant moment for Singh’s political legacy.

Singh, who died on December 27, 2024, now stands cleared in the high-profile criminal proceedings arising from the coal block allocation controversy. For Congress, the judgment offers an opportunity to revisit his legacy; for the BJP, it is likely to renew a wider political debate over accountability, institutional processes and the legacy of the UPA era.

Former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s famous words that “history will be kinder” to him than the contemporary media or opposition appear to have acquired fresh significance following the Supreme Court’s recent intervention in the coal block allocation case.

Singh had made the remark at his final press conference as Prime Minister in January 2014, at a time when his government faced relentless criticism over allegations of corruption and irregularities. On July 29, 2026, the Supreme Court effectively brought the long-running controversy to an end by upholding the CBI’s clean chit to Singh and setting aside the summoning order against him.

Reacting to the judgment, Congress Parliamentary Party chairperson Sonia Gandhi said Singh’s record of integrity and accountability stood in sharp contrast to the manner in which the Narendra Modi government has allegedly conducted itself.

Gandhi said history would indeed remember Singh as a “quiet, gentle, but most consequential” Prime Minister. She described the Supreme Court judgment as the conclusion of what she called one of the most tragic episodes in India’s public discourse—the alleged “witch-hunt” against a leader whose personal probity and integrity, she argued, were never adequately acknowledged.

Writing in The Indian Express, Gandhi alleged that the campaign against Singh was coordinated and involved sections of the bureaucracy, media, judiciary, civil society, the RSS and the BJP. She argued that the Supreme Court’s decision had brought the campaign to an inevitable conclusion and vindicated Singh.

“The date July 29, 2026, was an important but unacknowledged day in our recent political history,” Gandhi wrote, describing the ruling as a significant moment for Singh’s political legacy.

Singh, who died on December 27, 2024, now stands cleared in the high-profile criminal proceedings arising from the coal block allocation controversy. For Congress, the judgment offers an opportunity to revisit his legacy; for the BJP, it is likely to renew a wider political debate over accountability, institutional processes and the legacy of the UPA era.