Advocate ML Sharma who filed a Public Interest Litigation seeking cancellation of allocation of all 194 coal blocks and inquiry into allocation irregularities in New Delhi. | Photo credit: The Hindu
Advocate Manohar Lal Sharma, who filed many public interest litigations, including the coal block allocation scam case, has died.
Sharma, 69, died on Friday (December 19, 2025) after suffering from kidney disease, according to a family source.
In a landmark judgment in 2014, the apex court declared that the allocation of coal between 1993 and 2009 was illegal, arbitrary, non-transparent and without any procedure.
Sharma has filed many PILs, including those challenging the government’s decision to abrogate Article 370, investigating the Pegasus spyware issue and the Rafale case.
He also defended the accused in the 2012 Nirbhaya gang-rape case in Delhi.
Published – 21 Dec 2025 21:17 IST
