The government on Thursday accepted the resignation of Mr Gopal Subramanium from the post of Solicitor-General of India.
Sources said the decision was taken after consultations between Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and law minister Salman Khurshid. It is understood that the government took a serious note of Mr Subramanium’s move to take the issue to Rashtrapati Bhavan on Sunday.
Sources also described it as “a serious breach of the protocol, decorum and discipline” associated with the job of one of the seniormost law officers of the country.
It is understood that the government was also forced to accept the resignation as Mr Subramanium had refused to reconsider his decision despite being asked to do so by the Prime Minister. The acceptance of the Solicitor-General’s resignation had been delayed due to a change in the minister at the helm as Mr Khurshid replaced Dr M. Veerappa Moily.
Sources said Mr Khurshid accepted the resignation and this was conveyed to Mr Subramanium, who had been appointed S-G on June 15, 2009 for a three-year term.
Subramanium had submitted his resignation in protest after Union telecom minister Kapil Sibal asked Mr Rohington Nariman to represent the ministry in the Supreme Court. Mr Subramanium had been appearing for the government in the 2G spectrum-related cases. He had called the appointment “unfair” and had sent his resignation to the PM.
Mr Subramanium, while defending his action, had asserted that he had taken the step to protect the dignity of the office of the S-G. He also withdrew from all cases listed against his name in the Supreme Court since Monday.