Post not filled since October last year after Ranjit Kumar resigned in October  last year citing ‘personal reasons’.

New Delhi: It’s been almost a year since solicitor general Ranjit Kumar resigned but the Modi government has not filled the critical post, leaving its team of top lawyers short-staffed and overburdened.

The reason for the delay, sources said, is the jockeying for the post by the existing government lawyers and the pressures from the lobbies thought to be behind them.

Kumar resigned last October citing “personal reasons”.

The government had initially planned to promote an existing additional solicitor-general (ASG) in the Supreme Court, making ASGs Tushar Mehta and P.S. Narasimha the frontrunners for the coveted post.

Mehta, a Gujarat-based senior advocate considered close to BJP president Amit Shah, inherited most of Kumar’s high-profile cases and is roped in for virtually every high-stakes case.

Narasimha successfully defended the constitutional validity of criminal defamation laws for the government. He also headed the Indian delegation before the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea in the Italian Marines case.

In February, the government strengthened the speculation that either Mehta or Narasimha would be promoted as SG when it appointed three new ASGs – Sandeep Sethi, for the Delhi High Court, Aman Lekhi (BJP MP Meenakshi Lekhi’s husband) and Vikramjit Banerjee for the Supreme Court – increasing the ASG strength in the apex court to five.

The government, however, has made no move to appoint the SG.

Also read: S-G Ranjit Kumar’s resignation leaves big void, had saved Centre’s goat many times

Narasimha mulls quitting

The problem in the team of government lawyers could take a new twist as sources told ThePrint that Narasimha has been considering resigning – apparently for personal reasons – since December, two months after Kumar quit.

So far, three senior law officers appointed by the Modi government have quit.

The sources said that Narasimha had first discussed his plans with Attorney General K.K. Venugopal. He later brought it up with the government in April and reiterated his decision again during the apex court’s summer vacation in May-June. The government had then requested him to stay on for a while as another ASG, Sandeep Sethi, had quit then.

“Narasimha’s father passed away a few months ago and his mother is unwell. He wanted to quit to give more time to his personal life because he is quite overburdened now,” a source with the knowledge of developments said.

“Narasimha could have legitimately been expecting an appointment as the solicitor general. He could also be elevated as a judge since he is young and respected,” he added.

Narasimha, however, told ThePrint that the speculation of his resignation is “untrue”.

Also read: With vast experience, new AG Venugopal also brings conflict of interest to the table

A spate of resignations for ‘personal reasons’

Speculation about Narasimha comes amid a string of resignations by top government officers, who have all cited “personal reasons”.

Attorney-General Mukul Rohatgi was the first to quit citing “personal reasons” in May last year, after declining an extension to his three-year term. Rohatgi was said to be under severe stress after a string of losses for the government in high stakes cases in the Supreme Court.

It was under Rohatgi that the Centre faced setbacks in the National Judicial Appointments Commission case and the Uttarakhand and Arunachal Pradesh President’s rule cases.

On 20 October, Kumar also resigned citing “personal reasons”.

In July, ASG Sethi, who was representing the central government in the Delhi High Court, also resigned, four months into his appointment.

For the Modi government, finding efficient law officers to represent it has been a challenge since Rohatgi quit. After ruling out senior advocates who served during the previous Congress-led governments, the NDA is left with few choices.