Coal Scam: Meet Bharat Parashar: the CBI judge who had guts to summon Manmohan Singh and KM Birla

The special CBI judge Bharat Parashar has hogged the limelight after having summoned the former PM Manmohan Singh as an accused in the coal scam.

The Economic Times reports, the Patiala House courts additional sessions judge, later nominated by Supreme Court on recommendation of a sitting Delhi High Court judge, has taken to task various investigating agencies from time to time.
Pressurizing the CBI for not sticking to the deadlines in the Coalgate scam and refusing to accept its closure reports, he has always been a taskmaster for the CBI.

He hit the headlines in the coal case first, when he asked the CBI point blank whether they had questioned the then PM, Manmohan Sngh, who held the coal portfolio during some of the coal block allocations, the ET has reported. The CBI later did question the then Prime Minister.

Having sentenced the self-confessed killer Sher Singh Rana to life in the Phoolan Devi murder case, the Delhi police have faced his wrath during a hearing on the IPL spot-fixing case where he threatened to slap them with costs unless they shaped up and did their ground work.
Lawyers ET spoke to remember another incident when he was suddenly transferred from Rohini courts as joint registrar to the Delhi High Court. He has been a joint registrar with the Delhi HC. Parashar left two judgments written for his successor, who later pronounced them in open court. The High Court had to later strike it down since any ruling to stand had to be pronounced in open court by the judge himself.

(Image: India Times)