SC asks SG to suggest names for SPP appointment in coal block allocations case

The Supreme Court on Friday asked Solicitor General Tushar Mehta to suggest by February 10 the names of advocates for appointment as special public prosecutor (SPP) for conducting trials on behalf of the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in money-laundering cases relating to alleged irregularities in coal block allocations.

A bench of Chief Justice SA Bobde and Justice Deepak Gupta said that they want the lawyers to have experience in these kinds of scam and regularly practice in trial courts.

"We need a trial court lawyer who regularly practices there, not a Supreme Court lawyer," the court said.

Solicitor General suggested the name of senior advocate Maninder Singh for the appointment and sought time till Monday to take instructions from the government on the suggestion of more names.

The court was hearing a plea filed by senior advocate RS Cheema, who was appointed as SPP in 2014 by the apex court in the coal scam cases, seeking to be relieved as the prosecutor from money laundering cases.

Cheema had said that he would like to continue as the SSP for the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in the coal scam cases but wanted to be relieved from the responsibility of representing the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in money laundering coal scam cases.

The advocate contended that there was a shortage of law officers assisting him in such cases.

The top court had initially decided to appoint lawyer DP Singh as the SPP for ED, but Solicitor General Tushar Mehta told the court that he wanted time to discuss the appointment for the post with senior lawyer Cheema who has been dealing with such cases.

Earlier, the apex court had sought the status of investigation and trial in the coal block allocation scam cases from CBI and ED.