Nariman front-runner for Solicitor General’s job

Rohinton F Nariman is likely to take over as the new Solicitor General (SG) of India.

The senior advocate whose appointment as defence counsel by Telecom Minister Kapil Sibal in the 2G case had led to the exit of the former SG Gopal Subramaniam, has emerged the clear front-runner for the job. Mohan Parasaran, Indira Jaising and Vivek Tank were the other names sent to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, according to media reports. An official announcement is expected in a couple of days.

Rohinton is the son of former SG and eminent jurist Fali S Nariman and has vast experience in several branches of law.

Chastised by the Supreme Court several times on critical issues over the last few months, several ministries of the government were dissatisfied with the performance of Subramaniam and wanted their cases to be presented better.

Upset at the apex court’s order on black money, which had called for formation of a special investigative team into the matter, the government had even sought to distance itself from “certain concessions, admissions, submissions and acknowledgments” made by the former SG. After Sibal’s decision to appoint Nariman, the message on the wall was clear for Subramaniam.

He had submitted his resignation to the prime minister, which was eventually accepted. Sibal had been backing Nariman’s case strongly.