Delhi ( CNN ) A court in New Delhi Wednesday summoned India 's former Prime Minister , Manmohan Singh , as a suspect in a trial over alleged irregularities in the allocation of coal blocks , a spokeswoman for the investigating agency told CNN . Singh and his former government have repeatedly denied accusations they cost the treasury billions of dollars in lost revenue by selling coalfields to private companies , without allowing competitive bidding . The 82-year-old leader , who served as the nation 's prime minister for two successive terms until last year , was not named as a defendant in the original dossier of charges , said Kanchan Prasad , the spokeswoman for the Central Bureau of Investigation ( CBI ) . Nevertheless , the trial court summoned him and some other corporate leaders to testify in person on April 8 , she said . The case Singh has been asked to appear for relates to the licensing of a coal block to a private firm some 10 years ago , when he was also guardian of the nation 's coal ministry . The summons has been issued under India 's anti-corruption law . Singh said he was open to legal scrutiny . `` ( I ) Am sure that the truth will prevail and I will get a chance to put forward my case with all the facts . I have always said I am open for legal scrutiny . Of course I am upset , but this is part of life , '' he said in a text message issued by his office . Singh 's Congress Party also came to his defense . The former prime minister functioned with `` utmost probity and utmost transparency '' during his term , said senior Congress Party leader Manish Tiwari . He said Singh 's legal team would thoroughly examine the summons , and indicated it may be challenged in a higher court . The Oxford-Cambridge educated Singh has been credited with ushering in economic reforms in India as its finance minister in the 1990s . In his first term as prime minister , he initiated a historic nuclear deal with the United States that ended the South Asian nation 's decades-old isolation in the global nuclear market . His second tenure was hit by the unearthing of a series of scandals spread across various sectors . In 2012 , the national auditor alleged a widespread scam in the allocation of coal blocks . India depends heavily on coal for power . The fuel is abundantly available in the country , but that 's still not enough to satisfy the demand for energy in Asia 's third-largest economy . For the current financial year , national demand for thermal coal to produce energy has been estimated at 551.6 million tonnes , according to official figures . Of it , at least 84.7 million tonnes is being met through imports , coal minister Piyush Goyal told the Indian parliament in December . The state-run monopoly Coal India Limited ( CIL ) accounts for more than 80 % of the output . Plans by current Prime Minister Narendra Modi for future privatization of the industry faced resistance recently , when CIL workers stopped work in January . The two-day strike -- the biggest of its kind in four decades -- not only severely limited the ability of the companies to meet their production quotas , but forced the government to go slow on reforms .
Court summons former South Asian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh . Due to appear on April 8 ; case relates to the licensing of a coal block to a private firm 10 years ago .