The Supreme Court has appointed former Additional Solicitor General Maninder Singh and advocate Rajesh Batra as special public prosecutors (SPPs) for trial of multi-crore coal scam cases filed by the Enforcement Directorate.
Senior advocate R S Cheema, who was appointed SPP in 2014 by the top court, has sought permission to be relieved of the responsibility citing his age and shortage of law officers assisting him.
A bench headed by Chief Justice S A Bobde said that though there was no consensus on the names of individuals, the counsel appearing on all sides unanimously agreed that the apex court should appoint a seasoned trial court lawyer of impeccable integrity and a designated senior advocate to guide him and conduct the proceedings.
“Taking into account the above said criteria, we hereby appoint (i) Shri Maninder Singh, Senior Advocate and former Additional solicitor General of India; and (ii) Shri Rajesh Batra, Advocate as Special Public Prosecutors in the place of R S Cheema.
“R S Cheema, may get relieved upon the newly appointed Prosecutors taking charge. This Court records appreciation for the services rendered by R S Cheema,” said the bench, also comprising Justices A S Bopanna and V Ramasubramanian.