Case by case

The solicitor general,Gopal Subramanium,has resigned because he was sidestepped,and another lawyer was chosen to represent the telecom minister,Kapil Sibal,in a public interest litigation petition. Subramanium claims his decision was prompted by the desire to preserve the dignity of his office. The solicitor general is the second highest law officer in the country,after the attorney general. The English,Scottish,US and Canadian models all place different emphases on the law officers’ functions,but the core remains legal advice and representation to the government. And certainly,on that count,there is a clear disconnect between the government and its law officers — whether it was the 2G cases,the CVC confusion,the black money or Salwa Judum judgments,the government has struggled and failed to make a convincing case for its actions.

These cases have consequences not just of a political nature for the Central government. Many of these cases could also have an impact on the essential separation of powers laid out in our Constitution and on the manner in which internal security is handled. Therefore,the anarchy that the law ministry is presiding over requires the urgent attention of the prime minister. Recall the moral dilemma over the CVC’s appointment. There was a striking lack of clarity on the principles involved,the documents presented were incomplete and failed to mention details of a case pending in the Kerala high court — in short,it exposed the perfunctoriness of the way the government intended to fill an statutory post. The error was inflated in court by the shoddy defence of its actions. Later,the government tangled with the Supreme Court on the choice of public prosecutor in the 2G cases. In the black money case,the government capitulated to the court’s early assessment that it was not capable of handling the investigation and repatriation of the money,and that a special investigative team appointed by the court was necessary. In another demonstration of this laxity,only one of its law officers was present to appear for the government during most of the recent summer holidays,who presented over 150 opinions to the government in roughly two weeks.

These examples only serve to expose the larger abdication of his brief by the Union law minster. Never before have law officers in this country been drawn into so much controversy,or the government looked so adrift in the court.