The former prime minister, Manmohan Singh, is innocent till he is proved guilty. Therefore, by law and by all codes of civilized behaviour, Mr Singh should not be condemned or even tainted before anything is proved against him. There is, however, something profoundly significant in the fact of Mr Singh being summoned by the Central Bureau of Investigation. It shows that in spite of all its shortcomings and the many abuses embedded in it, the Indian democratic system and the legal system function with a modicum of propriety. One of the fundamental principles of a democratic polity is that of equality: no individual is above the law and no individual is special in the eyes of the law. All too often this principle is honoured only in the breach, and this has worked to the detriment of democracy in India. The summons to Mr Singh helps to redeem somewhat the reputation of India's political system.

Mr Singh, during his tenure as prime minister, held the job in the country that carries with it the heaviest responsibility. The chain of ministerial responsibility in a cabinet form of government invariably stops with the prime minister. As the prime minister, Mr Singh carried on his shoulders a fiduciary responsibility apart from all his other tasks. In many ways, Mr Singh was ideally suited to be the bearer of such responsibilities. His integrity and rectitude were considered to be above question. It is ironic that during his second term as prime minister, his government and his ministerial colleagues faced some of the worst charges of corruption in recent memory. Whatever the reality, Mr Singh's government was perceived to be a corrupt one and Mr Singh, for obvious reasons, could not avoid the stains of such notoriety. One of his colleagues, A. Raja, in fact, spent a longish period in jail on charges of corruption. This spectre has come back to haunt Mr Singh now, when he is no longer the prime minister. It is undeniable that Mr Singh was in charge of the coal ministry when the allocations that are now under the scanner were made. He cannot evade the responsibility since he cleared those files. It stands to reason and it is according to the principles of justice that he be called to explain to the CBI the basis of the allocations that prima facie look dubious to the investigating agency.

The Congress party and its president has decided to exhibit their solidarity with Mr Singh. What needs to be underscored here is that in this matter Mr Singh is alone, by himself. He has to face the investigating and legal systems as any other individual does - in other words, without any political scaffolding. To the law, Mr Manmohan Singh is just another citizen: and that is how it should be. The Telegraph believes that Mr Singh knows and respects these principles and ideals. Just as the Indian democratic system has redeemed itself by summoning Mr Singh, the latter too has to redeem his own reputation as a man of integrity.