The Centre on Tuesday opposed in the Supreme Court the CBI's move to appoint senior advocate Mr U.U. Lalit as the special Public Prosecutor (PP) in the 2G spectrum allocation case.

The apex court asked the Attorney General, Mr G.E. Vahanvati, – who on behalf of the Central Government objected to Mr Lalit's appointment on technical grounds – to clarify the Centre's stance by Friday.

Incidentally, Mr Lalit is representing Mr Hasan Ali Khan – accused of money laundering, tax evasion and passport forgery – in the black money case.

Raising doubts about whether Mr Lalit was eligible for the post, Mr Vahanvati told the court that according to the provisions of Prevention of Money Laundering Act (as money laundering issues may be involved in the 2G case), the person who is to be appointed as the special PP needs to have at least seven years' work experience with the State or the Union Government.

Mr Vahanvati sought a week's time to look into the entire situation and cited concerns that if Mr Lalit's appointment is challenged during the trial, it may derail the prosecution in the case.

Senior advocate Mr K.K. Venugopal, representing the CBI, claimed that Mr Lalit was part of the Central Government's panel for five years and the Maharashtra Government's panel for 15 years. But Mr Vahanvati contended that being in the panel was not enough, adding that such a person should have been the Government's standing counsel for at least seven years.

However, the court said the Act does not specify the words “standing counsel,” adding that, therefore, the Centre's objection was technical. It added that these words should be interpreted ‘reasonably'. The court had, in the last hearing, agreed that Mr Lalit was among those competent to be appointed to the post.

On April 1, the CBI had told the apex court that it wants Mr Lalit to be appointed as the Special PP to assist the Special Court, set up solely for the trial of the 2G case. The apex court had then directed the Centre to inform it by April 5 regarding the notification on the appointment of the special PP.

The CBI had said it was finding it difficult to choose an eminent and capable lawyer for the SPP's post because most of such lawyers have already been hired by the corporates involved in the case.

Though Mr Lalit was reluctant to take up the offer initially, he subsequently gave his nod in ‘public interest', said Mr Venugopal. The CBI was keen on Mr Lalit due to his expertise in criminal law, Mr Venugopal said, adding that Mr Lalit was currently the most appropriate person to lead the team of prosecutors in the case.

Advocate Mr Prashant Bhushan, representing the petitioner NGO Centre for Public Interest Litigation, had mooted senior advocates Mr Harish Gulati and Mr Arvind Nigam to be appointed as SPP citing their experience in criminal law and in trial courts. The court said they can be considered for being included in Mr Lalit's team of prosecutors if needed.

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