Supreme Court vindication of Manmohan Singh should initiate reform of criminal justice system: Ashwani Kumar

The Supreme Court’s “decisive and merited vindication” of former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in an “utterly untenable” criminal prosecution should prompt a wider reckoning with the country’s criminal justice system, senior advocate and former Union Law Minister Ashwani Kumar said on Thursday (July 30, 2026).

Calling the order a “vindication of truth”, Mr. Kumar said the case underscored the dangers of a system in which the process of prosecution itself could become punishment, particularly when allegations were amplified through a media trial.

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“The media trial of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, known for his impeccable integrity, during his lifetime had caused incalculable damage to his reputation and dignity, for which there can be no recompense whatsoever,” he said.

“The prosecutorial process was itself a punishment, the stark cruelty of which is now apparent after his exoneration by the Supreme Court,” he added.

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Mr. Kumar said it was particularly tragic that Dr. Singh did not live to see his name cleared, calling it a “sad commentary” on a system in which a person could be condemned before a conclusive finding of guilt without any meaningful recourse against unjust allegations.

The verdict, he said, should trigger reforms to reinforce the presumption of innocence and effectively curb media trials, which threaten the fundamental rights to reputation, privacy and dignity.

“The political, legislative and judicial processes must converge” to give effect to the guarantee under Article 21 of the Constitution, he said, adding that only then would the court’s order serve its “larger constitutional purpose”.

Former Information and Broadcasting Minister Manish Tewari recalled Dr. Singh’s press conference in January 2014 in which he had said history would be kinder to him than the media and his contemporaries.

“He stands fully vindicated. The Supreme Court’s decision to close a completely spurious case against him vindicates the honour of a gentleman who steered the ship of the Indian state through some of its most turbulent times, first in the early 1990s as Finance Minister, and later as Prime Minister of India,” he said, adding, “It came a little too late, as Dr. Manmohan Singh had already left us.”