Subramanium refuses SPP's job in coal scam cases

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Obviously slighted by the government's rejection of his name for Supreme Court judgeship, eminent lawyer Gopal Subramanium has refused to be Special Public Prosecutor in the coal blocks allocation scam cases.

His name had on July 18 emerged as the first choice of Chief Justice of India R M Lodha to try the accused in the coal scam cases.

Subramanium's office said that one of the counsel appearing in the matter had given information about the court's choice to appoint him as the SPP only if he gives his consent.

However, the former Solicitor General has expressed his difficulty in taking up the job as he has several prior commitments, it said.

"He has many prior commitments so he would not be in a position to take up the job of SPP," Subramanium's personal staff told PTI.

His office said this was a message conveyed to advocate M L Sharma, one of the PIL petitioners in the coal scam cases, who had contacted Subramanium's office on the issue.

The CJI had said "consent" of the person would be necessary for considering him as the SPP and it should not be restricted to the lawyers practising only in Delhi.

The Supreme Court collegium headed by the CJI had recommended names of four eminent persons as judges of the apex court but the government cleared the names of Chief Justices of Calcutta and Orissa High Courts, Arun Mishra and Adarsh Kumar Goyal respectively, and senior lawyer Rohinton Nariman, leaving out the former Solicitor General.

Subramanium had on June 25 withdrawn from being considered for appointment as a Supreme Court judge.