Amarendra Sharan (1949–2019) was Additional Solicitor General of India from 2004 to 2009 and a designated senior attorney at the Indian Supreme Court. He appeared in a number of prominent cases including coal allocation and 2G scam cases on behalf of CBI, the Priyadarshi Mattoo case, and the re-investigation of Mahatma Gandhi's murder.[1]

Early life and education

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Amarendra Sharan was born in Patna, Bihar on 23 October 1949. His father was an income tax commissioner and his mother a housewife. He graduated from Patna Law College in 1975 and started his practice in Patna High Court.[1]

Career

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Mr. Sharan moved to Delhi to practice in the Supreme Court of India in 1981. He was designated a Senior Attorney by the Supreme Court of India in 2000. In 2003, he was appointed as a member of the Mashelkar Committee (named after its chairman, R.A. Mashelkar, former director-general of Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR)), constituted to examine the problem of spurious/substandard drugs in the country.[2] As Additional Solicitor General, he argued the Priyadarshini Mattoo case and defended reservation under the constitution.[3] In 2008, Mr. Sharan received an award for Outstanding Contribution for the Development of Scientific Jurisprudence on National Law Day.[4] In 2009, he was appointed by the All India Football Federation to arbitrate a case between Bhaichung Bhutia and owner of Mohun Bagan owner, whereby he granted interim relief to Bhutia to play as a free agent.[5]

In 2017, he was appointed Amicus Curiae (friend of Court) in the re-investigation of Mahatma Gandhi's murder, where he argued that there was no reason to re-investigate the case and the case was closed.[6] He was also appointed Amicus Curiae in Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, where he advocated that Section 18 of the Act, which did not allow anticipatory bail, was unconstitutional.[7]

In 2018 and 2019, Mr. Sharan argued several prominent cases including representing CBI in coal block allocation case, and the CBI v. CBI case.[8][9] He was appointed to the Medical Council of India, and successfully argued for instituting a common national entrance exam for all public medical colleges in India (NEET), and later argued for removing the upper age limit for NEET exams.[10][11]

Politics

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Sharan was a senior leader in the Nationalist Congress Party and served as its spokesperson.[12]

References

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  1. ^ a b "Former Additional Solicitor General Amarendra Sharan passes away". The Hindu. 12 August 2019. Archived from the original on 3 February 2021. Retrieved 29 January 2021.
  2. ^ Jha, Sachidanand (Feb 18, 2013). "Spurious drugs: Tougher norms on the anvil". Times of India. Archived from the original on March 3, 2021. Retrieved January 29, 2021.
  3. ^ "Priyadarshini's killer deserves death". Time of India. October 31, 2006.
  4. ^ Scroll Staff. "Former Additional Solicitor General Amarendra Sharan dies at 70". Scroll.in. Archived from the original on 2021-02-04. Retrieved 2021-01-29.
  5. ^ "Interim relief for Bhutia, can play for any club". Archived from the original on 2021-03-03.
  6. ^ "SC appoints Amarendra Sharan as amicus curiae on plea seeking re-probe of Mahatma Gandhi murder". DNA India. Archived from the original on 2021-02-04.
  7. ^ "SC/ST act: Govt told apex court to keep anticipatory bail clause, says amicus curiae". Indian Express. Archived from the original on 2021-02-05.
  8. ^ "Coalgate: Ex-ASG Amarendra Sharan appointed as new CBI counsel". Hindustan Times. Archived from the original on 2021-02-04.
  9. ^ "CBI versus CBI: No arrest for Rakesh Asthana till Monday| 10 points". India Today. Archived from the original on 2021-03-03.
  10. ^ "One medical entrance test from this year supreme-court". DNA India. Archived from the original on 2021-02-04.
  11. ^ "SC allows candidates above 25 years to appear in NEET 2019 for under graduate courses". Archived from the original on 2021-02-03.
  12. ^ "NCP not to raise foreign origin issue in LS elections". Archived from the original on 2021-02-05.