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HomeIndiaGovernanceNo appeal against 2G verdict yet as govt mulls replacing special prosecutor...

No appeal against 2G verdict yet as govt mulls replacing special prosecutor Anand Grover

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Senior advocate Anand Grover was criticised for the prosecution’s failure to prove charges against former minister A. Raja & DMK MP Kanimozhi, among others.

New Delhi: More than a month after the 2G spectrum case verdict, the government is yet to file an appeal challenging the trial court order as it is considering replacing special prosecutor Anand Grover.

Sources told ThePrint that the BJP-led NDA government may replace its entire prosecution team for the next round of litigation. However, it is struggling to find a suitable replacement for senior advocate Grover who is the special public prosecutor for the CBI.

The government has also asked the attorney general K.K. Venugopal to draw up a list of potential candidates.

The CBI and the Enforcement Directorate (ED) have only 90 days from the date of verdict to file an appeal before the Delhi High Court. On 21 December last year, the special CBI court had ruled that the prosecution had failed miserably in proving its case.

It is learnt that Grover’s team is currently in the final stages of drafting the appeal and is awaiting instructions from the CBI to file the same. He had offered an initial opinion on the day of the ruling itself that there were enough grounds for appeal against the verdict.

Grover had drawn sharp criticism for the prosecution’s failure to prove charges against former telecom minister A. Raja, DMK MP Kanimozhi, among others.

Special CBI judge O.P. Saini had also noted in his 1,500-page ruling that the prosecution’s handling of the case was “directionless and diffident”.

The court had also singled out Grover for not signing several key documents which were signed by junior officers posted in the court.

“This shows that neither any investigator nor any prosecutor was willing to take any responsibility for what was being filed or said in the court,” the court had said.

Grover was appointed special public prosecutor in the high-profile case after U.U. Lalit, who held the post initially, was appointed a judge of the Supreme Court in 2014.

The apex court had asked Venugopal, who was then CBI’s lawyer, to give the court three choices for appointing a special prosecutor and accepted Grover’s name, Venugopal’s only recommendation.

CBI officers refused to comment on the matter.

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