Senior advocate Uday Lalit did not represent BJP leader Amit Shah in Sohrabuddin fake encounter case

Contrary to reports, Senior Advocate Uday Umesh Lalit had not represented BJP President Amit Shah in the Sohrabuddin fake encounter case. 

Earlier reports had suggested that Lalit, who has also been recommended for the position of the Supreme Court judge by the collegium headed by Chief Justice of India RM Lodha, had Amit Shah as his client. It was Ram Jethmalani who had defended for Shah in the said case in Supreme Court. 

Late last month, Former Solicitor General Gopal Subramaniam has withdrawn his candidature from the race to be the apex court judge after the Narendra Modi led government had returned Supreme Court's recommendation of appointing him as judge with the apex court, with a request to reconsider this decision. Chief Justice Lodha had extended support to senior advocate, criticising the manner in which the Narendra Modi government targeted the former Solicitor General. "Gopal Subramanium's segregation was done unilaterally," claimed Lodha. "It was done by the Executive without my knowledge and consent," he added. Read more 

ALSO READ: Who is Gopal Subramanium and why does he feel “let down” by the Narendra Modi government

A Supreme Court panel led by the Chief Justice of India has recommended Lalit's name, along with three others, for the top court it was reported.

Lalit will be the sixth lawyer directly elevated to the top court as a judge. He is also the special public prosecutor in the 2G spectrum scam case involving the gifting of out-of-turn mobile network licenses by the previous government to companies who allegedly paid big kickbacks.

Apart from Lalit, the collegium had recommended names of three chief justices of high courts including Justices Prafull Chandra Pant, Abhay Manohar Sapre and R Banumathi.

ALSO READ: Narendra Modi government gets defensive over Gopal Subramanium fiasco; says government can't be blamed
The Narendra Modi government has offered clarification over their decision to return Gopal Subramanium recommendation as Supreme Court judge, following sharp criticism from the Chief Justice of India RM Lodha. "The Centre can't be blamed for Gopal Subramanium row," said government sources stated, according to CNN-IBN report. "In 2009 too, the then law minister Veerappa Moily, on the basis of an anonymous letter, had not considered CK Prasad's name for the Supreme Court judge," the report said. It further quoted the source, saying, "Gopal himself resigned, so the government couldn't do anything. If the Supreme Court wanted, it could have sent Gopal's name again and the government would have abided by it. It didn't and so the government cannot be held responsible. The government fully respects the judiciary." Read more