Subramanium forced to bow out of race for SC judge

New Delhi: Former Solicitor-General of India and senior lawyer Gopal Subramanium has withdrawn his candidature for appointment as Supreme Court judge, amid reports that the Law Ministry had initiated an inquiry against him. He alleged that the Modi government had initiated a “dirt-digging exercise” to malign him, “with a clear mandate to describe me as unsuitable.”

In a letter to the Chief Justice of India, Subramanium wrote, “I am fully conscious that my independence as a lawyer is causing apprehensions that I will not toe the government line. This factor has been decisive in refusing to appoint me.” Disappointed that the judiciary did not stand by him, he said, “It is sad day as the judiciary has been compromised. All charges against me are false.”

Significantly, the former SG in the UPA government had assisted the court twice in the controversial encounter killing of Sohrabuddin Sheikh in Gujarat, where the role of the then State Home Minister Amit Shah was also under the scanner.

Subramanium was one of the four judges recommended by the SC Collegium in May. Later, when the new government came to power, it asked the collegium to reconsider Subramanium’s nomination. The Intelligence

Bureau (IB), too, showed the red flag to his appointment, raising several doubts about his “odd behavior” and charging him of relying more on his “spiritual instincts,” rather than on rational logic. The former SG represented the UPA government in the 2G scam and had reportedly met former Telecom Minister A Raja, who was accused to allocating 2G Spectrum at throwaway prices. The Modi government mentioned inputs from the CBI to portray Subramanium in bad light by also referring his alleged links to corporate lobbyist Niira Radia, whose phone conversations with scribes, politicians and industrialists are under the CBI scanner.

While praising Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley and Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad, whom he termed as his friend, Subramanium gave enough indications in his interaction with the media about his suspecting the role of Amit Shah in turning down his candidature as the SC judge. About Modi, Subramanium said that he happened to meet him only for 5-minutes in the past. Union Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad declined comment, saying judicial appointments are of a sensitive nature. It is an "ominous" and a "dangerous" sign of abuse of institutitions, Congress spokesperson Anand Sharma said.