Coalgate: Ex-ASG Amarendra Sharan appointed as new CBI counsel

New Delhi: Former Additional Solicitor General Amarendra Sharan was today appointed as special counsel by CBI to represent it before the Supreme Court in the Coalgate case which saw three senior counsel dropping out on grounds of conflict of interest and other controversies.

Sharan, who is a senior lawyer, will be assisted by advocate Sanchit Guru in the case which is listed for hearing tomorrow before a special bench headed by Justice R M Lodha.

The appointment of new counsel was necessiated as Additional Solicitor General Siddharth Luthra had withdrawn himself from representing the CBI making him the third lawyer to dissociate from the controversial case.

Luthra had taken the brief after senior advocate U U Lalit dropped out on the ground of conflict of interest, stating that he had earlier represented one of the accused Jindal Group firm in the multi-crore rupees scam.

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The ASG had recused after the apex court had asked whether he would be able to raise questions against Centre's decision despite being a government advocate.

Even Attorney General G E Vahanvati had said that he is not in the favour of law officers being engaged by the CBI in view of the controversy of sharing of probe report which forced the then ASG Haren Raval, who was representing the agency, to resign.

PTI