The exit of senior advocate Kapil Sibal on Wednesday from the Congress party has spread jitters in the legal fraternity as he was seen as the strongest legal voice for the Congress party.
Sibal was an active voice for the Congress party in the Supreme Court. Although many of the cases Sibal took up, such as the anti-Citizenship (Amendment) Act, right to privacy, Maratha quota, and Jahangirpuri demolition, were unrelated to the Congress party, they all challenged the BJP government’s policies and politics.
To name a few, he oversaw the Vyapam scamthe coal scam, the repeal of Article 370, triple talaq, hate speech cases, and demonetisation.
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One of his recent cases involved trying to save Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren, seeking a CBI/ED investigation into the grant of mining leases, allegations of MNREGA scam, and money transfers to shell companies.
Sibal stood up for the Congress party when it was in the minority in Karnataka and Uttarakhand.
In the coal scam case, he defended former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in the Supreme Court against a notice issued by the special CBI court.
Similarly, he served as the main counsel for former Maharashtra Chief Minister Ashok Chavan in the Adarsh housing society case.
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Sibal was the one who led the legal battle for Chidambaram after he was arrested.
Sibal also appeared before the Supreme Court for Karti Chidambaram, the son of senior Congress leader P Chidambaram.
Sibal, a senior advocate, is also known to have close ties with the Yadav family, and in January 2017, he argued to the Election Commission (EC) that Akhilesh Yadav should be given the ‘bicycle’ symbol, which Akhilesh received.
Last week, the senior lawyer appeared before the Supreme Court on behalf of Samajwadi Party leader Azam Khansecuring his bail by showing the court that frivolous cases are being filed against Khan in order to keep him imprisoned.
Sibal also testified in the triple talaq and Ram Janmabhoomi-Babri Masjid cases in 2017, both of which sparked strong religious and political feelings.
As a counsel in the Ayodhya title case, Sibal made a politically charged legal argument and asked the court to adjourn the 25-year-old case until 2019. He did so because he was convinced that the court’s decision would have an impact on the 2019 Lok Sabha elections. He did, however, clarify that he was not representing any political party in the case.
He is currently representing the Sahara Group before the Supreme Court in various cases.
Sibal has had a distinguished legal career, rising to the position of Additional Solicitor General of India in 1990. He successfully defended the chief justice of the Punjab and Haryana High Court against impeachment proceedings in the Lok Sabha in 1993. Between 1995 and 2002, he served as President of India’s Supreme Court Bar Association three times.
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