New Delhi, June 25
Former Solicitor General Gopal Subramanium today shot off a letter to Chief Justice of India RM Lodha stating that he did not want to be appointed as a judge of the Supreme court in the wake of the Narendra Modi government’s reported reluctance to accept the recommendations of the SC Collegium for his elevation.

In the nine-page letter, Subramanium said the government had no business to assess his character after having seen his integrity for several decades. He said he also had a “sense of unease that the Judiciary has failed to assert its independence by respecting the likes and dislikes” of the government.

“I do not consider that the Executive Government is entitled to judge my character after having seen me in public and professional domain for over 34 years...I also do not want my elevation to be the subject matter of any kind of politicisation,” he said.

He said the government was against his appointment as a judge of the apex court as he was not pliable. “I am fully conscious that my independence as a lawyer is causing apprehensions that I will not toe the line of the government.”

The SC Collegium had recommended the appointment of Subramanium and three others as apex court judges, but the Centre only accepted the proposals in respect of the others.

Subramanium strongly refuted the allegations levelled against him through “carefully planted leaks” raising doubts about his professional integrity in handling the 2G scam case when he was SG and other cases as a law officer.

“Over the past two weeks quite a few media reports have voiced the Union Government’s reservations about my appointment. These reports speak of alleged adverse reports against me by the Intelligence Bureau (IB) and the CBI,” he noted.

These reports were aimed at generating doubts in the minds of the SC Collegium, comprising the CJI and four senior most judges, and the public over the “suitability and propriety of appointing me as a judge of the SC,” he said. He said the IB had given “me a clean chit” on May 14, 2014, but the Ministry of Law and Justice initiated an inquiry after this “with a clear mandate to find something to describe me as unsuitable.”

He said the CBI had availed of his legal services for decades and if it had any doubt about his professional integrity it would not have done so.

He said as amicus curiae in the 2005 Sohrabuddin Sheikh fake encounter case, in which Modi’s close aide Amit Shah was a suspect, he had recommended a probe by a special investigation team (SIT). At the same time, he had supported Shah’s plea for bail as “I had no personal vengeance or any kind of grudge against” Shah, he said.

Subramanium also denied that he had a joint meeting with CBIofficials, which was probing the 2G scam, and senior advocate TR Andyarujina, who was counsel for former telecom minister A Raja, an accused in the case. He said he doubted the ability of the government to “appreciate and respect the independence, integrity and glory of the judicial institution. I do not expect this attitude to improve with time.”

• Gopal Subramanium lashed out at the Narendra Modi government for its reported reluctance to accept the recommendations of the SC Collegium for his elevation
• He said the government was against his appointment as a judge of the apex court as he was not pliable
• The SC Collegium had recommended the appointment of Subramanium and three others as apex court judges, but the Centre only accepted the proposals in respect of the others