Solicitor-General RF Nariman resigns

NEW DELHI: Senior lawyer RF Nariman on Monday resigned as Solicitor-General.

Neither the government nor Nariman gave reasons for the sudden move but people close to the development said Nariman was unhappy with the way the law ministry was treating his office. Officials, however, said Nariman's resignation is yet to be accepted.

Nariman took the office 18 months ago when Gopal Subramanium resigned in protest against the then law minister Kapil Sibal's decision to appoint Nariman as the government's counsel in the 2G case.

A respected corporate lawyer, Nariman had led the government's attempts in reopening the Supreme Court's January 2012 ruling in favour of Vodafone. He had argued for the government that backed the I-T department's 11,000-crore tax claim on Vodafone.

The apex court, however, held that Vodafone was not liable to pay the tax. A three-judge bench, led by then chief justice SH Kapadia, had ruled that the I-T department has no jurisdiction to levy tax on transactions carried out abroad.