Tehelka reports on how Senior Advocate Harish Salve, appointed as amicus curiae in Gujarat riot cases has been involved in corporate lobbying for a business group with the Narendra Modi government that itself is accused in the riot cases. Tehelka has exposed the emails exchanged between Salve and the senior officials of Modi’s government that show Salve had routed a business proposal of a major company to Modi’s office.

There will now be doubts over the fairness and impartiality of the Senior Advocate in his analysis of the Special Investigation Team’s (SIT) investigation into the Gujarat riots. There have already been complaints that SIT has failed in its mandate for which it was constituted. Supreme Court lawyer, Kamini Jaiswal had earlier told the Supreme Court that she had no faith in Salve as an amicus.

Retired Supreme Court Judge P.B. Sawant said, that it would be highly unethical and untenable for Salve to continue as an amicus after this expose. The retired Judge said “If the email exchanges cited by you are true then in my view it amounts to corporate lobbying. The court had appointed Salve to assist the judges. But corporate lobbying will make people doubt his impartiality and objectivity. He must resign and I’m sure he will do that.”

In his defence, Salve told Tehelka that he had not made any money from the business deal and the mails he wrote were in his personal capacity as a friend.

Do you think the amicus curiae should be involved in corporate lobbying? By you being appointed as amicus curiae, do you see any conflict of interest in lobbying?

Here is the link to the larger article.

(picture source: India Today)