Former attorney general of India Goolam Essaji Vahanvati, the first Muslim to become the top law officer of the country, died in Mumbai on Tuesday following a heart attack aged 65.
Senior advocate Goolam E Vahanvati was appointed as the new Attorney General on Monday, the country's top law officer.
Senior advocate Mukul Rohatgi was on Thursday appointed as the new Attorney General and will have a tenure of three years. The law ministry issued a formal notification appointing him as the top law officer of the National Democratic Alliance government.
He is targeted because he is gone against corportates, says G E Vahanvati.
Senior advocate Mukul Rohatgi will be the new Attorney General of India following change in the government at the Centre.
Attorney General Goolam Vahanvati and Law Secretary D R Meena have been called by Parliament's Public Accounts Committee to give evidence in its probe into the 2G spectrum allocation scam.The committee, which has also called Cabinet Secretary K M Chandrasekhar, Principal Secretary in Prime Minister's Office T K A Nair and Central Bureau of Investigation Director A P Singh, have asked all of them to depose before it on April 15-16.
The country's two top law officers Attorney General Goolam Essaji Vahanvati and Solicitor General Mohan Parasaran have tendered their resignations following the change in the government at the Centre.
Central Bureau of Investigation Director Ranjit Sinha on Monday compounded the woes of Attorney General G E Vahanvati by claiming in his affidavit to the Supreme Court that the top law officer not only "glanced" through the draft status report but also suggested changes in them.
Vahanvati's clear stand in court on Tuesday that he has not seen the draft copy of the CBI status report on the coal scam investigation means that there is some design behind his stand? The next stage of the drama will unfold CBI to file its version before the apex court on May 6. Sheela Bhatt reports.
The Joint Parliamentary Committee on 2G spectrum allocation has concluded that Attorney General G E Vahanvati was aware of the procedure approved by the Department of Telecommunication on first-come-first served criteria in file notings.
Additional Solicitor General Harin Rawal, in a tersely-written letter to his boss and Attorney General G E Vahanvati, accusing him of messy handling of the CBI in the coal scam investigation, and sparking speculation that the latter may recuse himself from the case. Sheela Bhatt reports.
Attorney General G E Vahanvati on Wednesday apologised before the Supreme Court for losing his cool during arguments in the coal blocks allocation scam case on Tuesday.
Former Telecom Minister A Raja, the main accused in 2G spectrum scam, has told the Joint Parliamentary Committee that Prime Minister Manmohan Singh was in the loop over policy decisions and has accused Attorney General G E Vahanvati of telling a "series of untruths" against him.
The BCCI has written to Attorney-General Goolam E Vahanvati and former Chief Justice A S Anand to get clarity on the controversial "whereabouts" clause in WADA'S Anti-Doping Code that has been opposed by top cricketers. Eleven cricketers, including captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni and Sachin Tendulkar, have opposed the clause and have already missed the July 31 deadline to sign the Code.
Senior Supreme Court advocate Ranjit Kumar, considered an expert on constitutional laws, was appointed as the solicitor general on Saturday. The law ministry issued a notification appointing Kumar, who has defended Gujarat in a number of cases, as the next solicitor general of India.
Attorney General G E Vahanvati has complained to the Delhi police over a hoax call he received from a woman imitating Congress President Sonia Gandhi regarding some high profile cases in the Supreme Court following which a police probe has begun.
Without issuing notice to the Centre, a bench of justices R M Lodha and A R Dave asked the petitioner to serve the copy of the petition to Attorney General G E Vahanvati or Solicitor General Rohinton Nariman saying it needs some necessary clarification on the issue.
Temporary relief for Bharti, Vodafone and former telecom secretary Shyamal Ghosh
The office of Attorney General Goolam E Vahanvati has said he had offered advice as solicitor general to the then External Affairs minister Pranab Mukherjee and Telecom minister A Raja in 2007 on 2G spectrum issues but it was not written and there is no copy of it.
The CBI has claimed that Essar had more than 10 per cent of cross-holdings in Loop Telecom which was against the norms, a charge denied by the two companies.
Shying away from taking any stand on gay sex, the government on Thursday virtually left it for the Supreme Court to decide on the 'correctness' of the Delhi High Court order decriminalising homosexuality.The Union Cabinet, chaired by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, considered the report of the three-member Group of Ministers formed on the issue and decided that Attorney General G Vahanvati will 'assist' the Supreme Court on it.
But it's nice to see the CBI telling the truth overtly and exposing the government that it serves covertly, says Sheela Bhatt.
The government on Wednesday clarified its stand on homosexuality before the Supreme Court, saying it is in favour of decriminalisation of gay sex and the Delhi high court verdict is acceptable to it.
The Supreme Court on Friday declined to entertain the Centre's request to defer till next year its July 23 order limiting the government's discretionary quota for Haj pilgrims.
The government on Thursday told the Supreme Court that once a bureaucrat is given a vigilance nod for appointment as secretary, no further clearance is required for empanelment for appointment as the central vigilance commissioner. "Once a person is appointed as secretary on clearance by the CVC, he can be considered for empanelment and no further inquiry is required," Attorney General G E Vahanvati submitted before a bench headed by Chief Justice S H Kapadia.
Attorney General G E Vahanvati on Friday recommended that impeachment motion to remove Justice Soumitra Sen as the judge of the Calcutta High Court must go on in the Lok Sabha despite his resignation.
The prime minister wasn't comfortable with the series of events in the coal block allotment scam probe, including the uncontested detailed letter sent by Additional Solicitor General Harin P Raval (who quit on Tuesday) to Attorney General Goolam E Vahanvati recalling every instance much to the embarrassment of the government, reports Rakesh Bhatnagar
The government on Tuesday sought to downplay the political storm created by Additional Solicitor General Harin Rawal's letter accusing Attorney General G E Vahanvati of trying to interfere in the Central Bureau of Investigation's probe report on coal scam.
A bench headed by Chief Justice Altamas Kabir sought response from the Centre and the three intelligence wings for bringing the agencies under the oversight of Parliament and the Comptroller and Auditor General.
The Central Bureau of Investigation is likely to convey to the Supreme Court on Monday that changes were proposed both by Law Minister Ashwani Kumar and Attorney General G M Vahanvati in its status report on investigations into the controversial allocation of coal blocks.
The Telangana Bill, which was rejected by the Andhra Pradesh assembly on January 30, will return to the Rashtrapati Bhavan on Monday along with six bundles containing 8,049 amendments.
In a slow-moving justice delivery system, the fact that Law Minister Ashwani Kumar is still in the government is not surprising. In the sound and fury of the war between Attorney General G E Vahanvati and Additional Solicitor General Harin Rawal, the most important factor is not being given enough attention.
Attorney General G E Vahanvati on Wednesday told a Delhi court that former Telecom Minister A Raja's letter to the prime minister regarding the DoT's policy to be adopted for 2G spectrum allocation was not based on discussion with him and the then External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee.
The government is likely to send a Presidential reference to Supreme Court for conducting a probe into the allegation of sexual harassment against Justice (retd) A K Ganguly after Attorney General has endorsed it.
Days after the Supreme Court cancelled 122 licenses for 2G spectrum, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Saturday held consultations with senior Cabinet colleagues on its impact on the telecom sector and the way forward. The meeting was attended by Finance Minister Paranab Mukherjee, Home Minister P Chidambaram, Telecom Minister Kapil Sibal and Law Minister Salman Khurshid.
Appearing before a bench of justices K S Radhakrishanan and Deepak Misra, Attorney General G E Vahanvati said the Kudankulam plant is absolutely safe beyond all doubts and all the apprehensions are misplaced.
Law Minister Ashwani Kumar on Thursday met Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, a day after the Supreme Court pulled up the government on the probe into the coal allocation scam.
Law Minister Ashwani Kumar's fate hung in balance as the Supreme Court takes on record on Tuesday CBI Director's affidavit and the agency's status report on the coal blocks allocation scam that was shared with the minister and senior officials of PMO and Coal ministry.
The Central Bureau of Investigation on Monday moved the Supreme Court seeking its permission to drop certain charges against gangster Abu Salem under TADA and Explosive Substances Act in view of its commitment to Portuguese government at the time of his extradition that he shall not be awarded death penalty or detained in custody for more than 25 years if found guilty.
The Supreme Court on Friday asked the Indian high commissioner and consulate general in Australia to help prevent Indian students from falling prey to fake educational institutions there.
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