Ex-Solicitor General Gopal Subramanium withdraws nomination for SC judge

New Delhi: Senior lawyer Gopal Subramanium and former Solicitor General for the previous UPA government has withdrawn from the race to become the Supreme Court judge.

Days before the BJP was voted to power, Mr Subramanium was nominated by a Supreme Court collegium for the top post.

Sources indicate that the Narendra Modi-led NDA government did not want him as judge and he withdrew his nomination under pressure.

The noted lawyer had represented the UPA government in the controversial telecom scam that is seen as one of the main reasons for Congress party’s poll debacle.

Reports indicate that the government had received ‘negative inputs’ from the CBI over his alleged meeting with a lawyer of 2G scam accused former telecom minister A Raja.

Mr Subramanium’s name was also brought up in the Nira Radia’s audio tapes controversy.

The 56-year-old lawyer is upset over ‘malicious’ attacks on his character.

He resigned as Solicitor General in July 2011.

Interesingly, Mr Subramanium had argued for the prosecution in the 2001 Parliament attack and the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks.

Rohinton Nariman, who took over as Solicitor General after Mr Subramanium, is the second lawyer nominated to become Supreme Court judge.