MOSCOW, March 11 (RAPSI) – A court in India on Wednesday summoned country’s ex-Prime Minister, Manmohan Singh, who is accused of participating in illegal coal block allocation back in 2005, The Indian Express reports.

He was ordered to appear in court on April 8.

Coal block scam case is related to allocation of Talabira-II coal field in Odisha, India to Hindalco company owned by Indian industrialist Kumar Mangalam Birla. Former Prime Minister Singh held the coal portfolio in 2005 when the allocation was approved, The Indian Express reports.

According to The Indian Express, Hindalco executives including Birla have also been summoned to court along with former coal secretary of India P C Parakh. All of the accused have been charged with criminal conspiracy, criminal breach of trust and under various sections of the prevention of corruption act, The Indian Express reports.