President Pranab Mukherjee has cleared the names of senior advocate Rohinton Nariman and the Chief Justices of the Calcutta and Orissa High Courts, Arun Mishra and Adarsh Kumar Goel respectively, for appointment as judges of the Supreme Court.
Their names were forwarded to the President by the Law Ministry a few days ago even as it turned down the elevation of the former Solicitor-General of India, Gopal Subramanium, who was among the four names recommended by the Supreme Court collegium last month.
The name of Subramanium was returned by the Law Ministry to the Supreme Court collegium for reconsideration. With Chief Justice of India R M Lodha out of Delhi, a review by the collegium is likely only after he returns on June 28.
However, if the collegium reiterates the recommendation of Subramanium, the government is bound to accept his elevation.
Official sources said Subramanium's case was turned down by the Law Ministry after examining reports it had sought from the CBI and the Intelligence Bureau on him.
Subramanium's name allegedly figured in one of the tapes of businesswoman and corporate lobbyist Nira Radia, which led to the unraveling of the 2G spectrum allocation scam.
The sources maintained that the CBI sent its opinion in this regard to the Law Ministry, citing its report to the apex court on Radia's alleged connections with the legal fraternity, culling out details from the transcripts from the tapes.
As UPA's solicitor general, Subramanium's tenure saw a controversy after he convened a joint meeting of the lawyer of ex-Telecom minister A Raja, an accused in the 2G scam.
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