New Delhi: Solicitor General Gopal
Subramanium on Monday night kept his options open a day after he
resigned protesting against appointment of a lawyer to appear
for the government in a 2G related case without his consent.
Even as the government appeared to be working on how
to make the second top most law officer of the country
withdraw his resignation, Subramanium`s action was backed by
jurists, former Chief Justice of India J S Verma and eminent
counsel Soli Sorabjee.
Maintaining that he resigned to keep the dignity of
the post, Subramanium met President Pratibha Patil and later
parried questions whether he would reconsider his decision if
Law Minister M Veerappa Moily asked him to go back on his
action.
Sources said Subramanium (53), who has been appearing
for the government in the 2G related cases in the Supreme
Court, said it was "unfair" that the Law Ministry chose to
appoint Rohington Nariman as counsel for Union of India to
appear in a PIL filed by an NGO against Telecom Minister Kapil
Sibal without his consent.
However, sources close to Sibal chose to dismiss the
objection saying that Nariman would appear on his behalf and
not the government. Subramanium would continue to appear for
the Telecom Ministry in the 2G cases. (MORE) PTI NAB RKS AKK
Subramanium is understood to have sent his resignation
to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh yesterday evening and Singh
reportedly counselled him not to adopt such a course of
action.
"I tendered my resignation largely because of the
appointment of Special Counsel (private lawyer) to represent
Union of India in the 2G matter. I think without my consent it
was not correct and it was an unfair decision," he told PTI.
He also said that once he had come back to the case at
the "insistence of the Prime Minister", the office should have
been respected.
He said such offices require "tremendous pressures,
sacrifices and purity" where law officers have to walk on a
"razor`s edge".
Sources said during his meeting with the President,
which was described as a courtesy call, Subramanium reportedly
told her that he had an "excellent innings" as Solicitor
General.
Commenting on his resignation, Justice Verma said as
an ethical lawyer and practising highest degree of
professionalism, Subramanium has done the right thing.
He said a litigant has a choice of the counsel but he
has to treat the counsel already engaged with "dignity".
"If he feels slighted, that is the only correct thing
to do," Justice Verma said.
In his reaction Sorabjee said no self-respecting
officer can continue when there is a clear loss of confidence
in a lawyer. Probably he was miffed at the manner in which it
was done, Sorabjee said.
PTI
