Supreme Court appoints Sunaina Sharma to conduct CBI coal scam trials

The Hindu
The Hindu
50m ago
The Supreme Court appointed Sunaina Sharma as a special judge to conduct trials in CBI-probed coal scam cases and noted that the incumbent judge’s six-month continuation from April 8, 2025 had exceeded eight months.
Supreme Court appoints Sunaina Sharma to conduct CBI coal scam trials
A What happened
The Supreme Court appointed Sunaina Sharma on January 12, 2026 to conduct trials in coal scam cases being probed by the CBI. Special public prosecutor R. S. Cheema submitted that Special CBI Judge Sanjay Bansal had been allowed to continue from April 8, 2025 for six months, and more than eight months had passed. The Delhi High Court submitted three names to replace Bansal, and the court appointed Sharma as special judge for Prevention of Corruption Act/CBI/coal block allocation cases. The Supreme Court said 29 CBI corruption cases were pending before two special coal scam courts and 27 cases had been disposed of.
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Key insights

  • 1

    Court flagged delay beyond the permitted continuation period: R. S. Cheema told the court that more than eight months had passed since Sanjay Bansal was allowed to continue for six months from April 8, 2025.

  • 2

    High Court given flexibility on the special judge appointment: The Supreme Court ordered that the Delhi High Court could seek a replacement for Sunaina Sharma in case of exigency.

Takeaways

Sunaina Sharma was appointed to conduct CBI coal scam trials as multiple CBI and ED matters remain pending in special courts and under the PMLA.

Topics

World & Politics Corruption & Accountability Law & Public Safety Crime & Justice Courts

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