New Delhi:
Solicitor General Gopal Subramanium's decision to resign has upset many within the government partly because he wrote directly to the Prime Minister, offering to quit. (
Read: Solicitor General offers to resign, Moily rejects it)
Sources say that over the weekend, Law Minister Veerappa Moily asked Mr Subramanium to reconsider his resignation, but the Solicitor General bypassed him and sent his resignation letter to Dr Manmohan Singh.
Unless the PM intervenes, sources say, Mr Subramanium's tenure as Solicitor General may end. (
Read: Prime Minister to decide on Solicitor General's resignation)
Mr Subramanium resigned over the weekend in protest against the government's decision to use a private lawyer in a case involving Telecom Minister Kapil Sibal. Mr Subramanium has said that he was resigning "to protect the dignity of the office."
Mr Moily is reported to have clarified that the government's appointment of Rohinton Nariman is "a special case." Mr Nariman was to defend Mr Sibal in a case that alleged the minister exercised his discretion to seriously downsize the penalty imposed upon Anil Ambani and his Reliance Communications for violating a commitment to provide telephony services in rural areas. (
Read: Rohinton Nariman appears for Kapil Sibal in Supreme Court)
Some within the government say senior leaders have been unhappy with developments in recent high-profile cases that were being handled by Mr Subramanium. For example, in November, the Supreme Court had asked the Prime Minister a few months ago to explain his alleged inaction after a formal request was made to him requesting permission for the prosecution of then Telecom Minister A Raja. The Supreme Court's request for an explanation was seen as a serious blow for the image of the Prime Minister, whose government has been under siege from a series of corruption scandals.