Maharashtra Advocate-General Sunil Manohar resigned on Tuesday citing personal reasons. The state Cabinet accepted Manohar’s resignation.
A state government release said the Cabinet has taken a decision to give temporary charge to Additional Solicitor-General Anil Singh. Manohar was not available for comment. Manohar’s resignation comes a day after the state Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) filed a First Information Report (FIR) against Maharashtra’s former Public Works Minister Chhagan Bhujbal and five others, for allegedly leasing out a piece of government land to a private real estate company in northwest Mumbai for 99 years, for a meagre sum. Manohar, who hails from Nagpur, the home city of Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, was appointed as the advocate-general on November 18. He was personally picked up by Fadnavis. Known for his no-nonsense attitude, Manohar has been in the legal profession for 27 years. During his tenure, Manohar represented government on petitions challenging beef ban, confidence motion won by the Bharatiya Janata Party-led government in the state legislature and a multi-crore irrigation scam.
