Senior counsel Suryaprakash V Raju practising at the Gujarat High Court was appointed Additional Solicitor General (ASG) of India of the Supreme Court. The central government in an order on Monday also approved the appointment of advocate Devang Vyas, the incumbent assistant solicitor general of the Gujarat High Court, as additional solicitor general of India for Gujarat High Court. The order effective from July 1 will stand for a period of three years or until further orders, whichever is earlier. Raju was among six senior advocates who were appointed as ASG at the Supreme Court in the order signed by under secretary at department of personnel training in Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions, Rajeev Lochan. Among the five appointed as additional solicitor generals of India for high courts, Vyas is the only one who is not a senior advocate. Raju has handled some of the most high profile cases in the state. He represented Union home minister Amit Shah in the Sohrabuddin encounter case. Shah was subsequently discharged in the case. Raju has also represented several accused policemen in the encounter case. Of late, Raju has represented rape-convict Asaram Bapu, Calorex top officials, including CEO Manjula Pooja Shroff who is facing charges for forgery for leasing out land to self-styled godman Nithyanand, erstwhile National Health Mission Chief and IAS Gaurav Dahiya, who was accused of polygamy. Raju also represented several complainants, including Ahmedabad District Cooperative Bank, which had slapped defamation cases on Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi and Randeep Surjewala.
