KOCHI: Soon after the declaration of V D Satheesan as the chief minister, with cabinet members expected to be announced shortly, intense discussions are under way within legal and political circles over key law officer appointments, including the posts of Advocate General and Director General of Prosecution.
Several prominent senior lawyers have emerged as frontrunners to succeed Advocate General Gopalakrishna Kurup, who served as AG during the previous LDF government. Senior Advocates George Poonthottam and Jaju Babu are among the leading contenders.
Deliberations are also progressing over the appointment of the next Director General of Prosecution as the new government moves to reshape its legal leadership. Congress leader and former Director General of Prosecutions T Asaf Ali is considered the prime candidate for the post.
Sources revealed that decisions regarding the appointments of the Advocate General and Director General of Prosecution are likely to be announced during the first cabinet meeting. Leaders associated with the Indian Lawyers’ Congress said the appointment of the Advocate General remains the Chief Minister’s prerogative, as the person selected for the post should be someone trusted by the CM.
George Poonthottam, a well-known senior advocate practising constitutional and service law at the Kerala High Court and considered a strong contender for the Advocate General’s post, told TNIE that he has not yet received any communication regarding the matter. His strong connections with the Congress party, having served as general secretary of the Kerala Students Union and a former state committee member of the Youth Congress, are factors working in his favour.
Besides, he has represented V D Satheesan and Ramesh Chennithala in several writ petitions and public interest litigations.Over the past decade, Poonthottam has appeared for petitioners in several cases that put the Pinarayi Vijayan government under pressure before the Kerala High Court.
Senior Advocate Jaju Babu is also being considered by the Congress party owing to his experience and strong ties with the party. He had served as legal adviser to the Governor of Kerala and as standing counsel for the Chancellor of Universities in Kerala. He is also the designated Senior Counsel for Kochi Metro Rail Limited (KMRL).
T Asaf Ali’s performance during his tenure as Director General of Prosecutions between 2011 and 2016 is considered a key factor boosting his prospects in the race for the post again. A former president of the Indian Lawyers Congress (ILC), Asaf Ali represented petitioners in several high-profile cases before the Kerala High Court.
He appeared for the parents in the Shuhaib murder case seeking a CBI probe and represented the parents of Kripesh and Sarath Lal in the Periya twin murder case, helping secure a CBI probe.
He also appeared in public interest litigations challenging the Sprinklr deal during the Covid period, seeking action over the alleged illegal collection of patients’ personal data, demanding prosecution in the 2019 police postal ballot controversy, and calling for a tribunal to assess losses suffered by victims of the 2018 floods.
Of the two Additional Advocate General (AAG) and Additional Director General of Prosecution (ADGP) posts, one AAG and one ADGP position are expected to go to the Indian Union Muslim League (IUML). IUML leader and Kerala High Court lawyer Muhammed Shah is likely to be appointed Additional Advocate General, while Advocate Muhammed Shafi and Shibili Naha are among the contenders for the ADGP post.
If the second AAG post is allotted to Kerala Congress (Joseph), two names are in contention -Advocate K D Vincent and former MP and Kerala High Court lawyer P C Thomas. However, there are also rumours that the Congress may retain those posts this time. For the ADGP post from the Congress quota, Advocates K R Sunil and Adukkan Joy are also being considered.