Govt rejecting Subramaniam's name as apex court judge

It is an "ominous" and a "dangerous" sign of abuse of institutitions, Congress alleged today slamming the government for rejecting Gopal Subramaniam's name for appointment as a judge of the Supreme Court.
Hailing the former Solicitor General as "one of the finest legal minds" of India, party spokesperson Anand Sharma said Subramanium was appointed as an amicus curiae by the apex court in many high-profile cases including in the Sohrabuddin Sheikh fake encounter killing case of Gujarat in which BJP leader Amit Shah came under the scrutiny.
"It is very clear what are the real reasons behind it...As far as Congress is concerned, we can say without hesitation that Gopal Subramanian is one of the finest legal minds of India. He is respected globally. He was requested to accept the proposal of becoming a Supreme Court judge.

"What is happening is ominous...The government wants a committed judiciary and politicisation of every institution, which is dangerous," Sharma told reporters here.
He rued that such institutional abuse had taken place earlier but alleged that this time it has begun to happen within a month of the government coming to power.
Sharma said such "violation" of institutions should set the alarm bells ringing.

The name of 56-year-old Subramanium, who had served as the Solicitor General during the previous UPA rule, was recommended by the Supreme Court collegium headed by Chief Justice R M Lodha for elevation to the apex court bench along with some other names.

But the government rejected his name and returned the file over his name while accepting the recommendation related to others including another lawyer Rohinton Nariman.
Feeling "let down" by the government and the Supreme Court over rejection of his name, Subramanium today asked the Chief Justice of India to withdraw the recommendation of his candidature as judge of the apex court.