Solicitor General of India, a Constitutional Law expert, Ranjit Kumar resigns for 'Personal' reasons

October 20,2017:

The Sources close to him said it was for "personal reasons to attend to certain health issues of family members".

The Solicitor General of India, Senior Advocate Ranjit Kumar, who was appointed as  by the NDA government on June 7, 2014, has today resigned from office citing "personal reasons".

He held the post of country's second highest law officer for over three years and has represented the Centre in the Supreme Court in several crucial cases including the pleas against Demonetisation and rising Pollution.

He is now the second law officer to quit after Mukul Rohatgi, who had resigned as the Attorney General in June 2017.

Ranjik Kumar, a a celebrated Constitutional Law expert and has assisted the Apex Court in deciding the issue whether a state government can grant pardon to the death row convicts in cases which are probed and prosecuted by central investigating agencies like CBI.

This issue had arisen out of the decision of the Tamil Nadu government to release the killers of former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi.

PTI is informed that he had resigned for "personal reasons".

He said that he put in his papers as he was not finding time to attend to certain health issues of family members.

He had succeeded SG Mohan Parasaran in 2014 after the Narendra Modi government assumed the office.

Rather his second term as SG was renewed lately.

His resignation letter was received by the office of Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad received today.

There was also a speculation some times ago that the Supreme Court collegium was considering his name as a judge of the apex court.

Prior to becoming the solicitor general, Ranjit Kumar represented Gujarat government in several cases and assisted the apex court as amicus curiae in cases including the sensitive matter of Yamuna pollution.

Kumar had also appeared in the Sohrabuddin Sheikh encounter case.

He also represented then Tamil Nadu chief minister J Jayalalithaa in the disproportionate assets case in local District Bangalore court.