Ranjit Kumar, India’s second-most senior law officer, has resigned from the the post of Solicitor General of India citing ‘personal reasons’ in a letter submitted to the Law Ministry on Friday morning, according to media reports.
Kumar has resigned from the post for not being able to spend time with his family, according to media reports.
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He was appointed by the incumbent government of Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 7 June 2014. Ranjit Kumar succeeded Mohan Parasaran.
The Solicitor General of India assists the Attorney General of India in advising the Union Government on matters pertaining to law an law officer, and is himself assisted by several Additional Solicitors General of India.
Appointments Committee of the Cabinet appoints the Solicitor General. Whereas, Attorney General for India is appointed by the President under Article 76(1) of the Constitution, the Solicitor General of India is appointed to assist the Attorney General along with four Additional Solicitors General by the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet.
Prior to his appointment as the Solicitor General, Kumar had represented former Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayalalithaa in the disproportionate assets case pending in a Bangalore court and also represented Sohrabuddin Sheikh encounter case among many other high profile cases.
Earlier in July, Attorney General of India, Mukul Rohatgi, had also resigned citing similar reasons. K.K. Venugopal took over as Attorney General after Rohatgi stepped down.
(With agency inputs)