Kapil Sibal Monday assumed the charge of the union law ministry, taking over from Ashwani Kumar who resigned last week after he came under attack in the Supreme Court for vetting the CBI report on the allocation of coal blocks.
Sibal will hold additional charge of law along with the communications and information technology ministry.
"I am thankful to prime minister (Manmohan Singh) and Congress chief (Sonia Gandhi) for assigning me this job. With a year to go for next Lok Sabha elections, I will do my best to fulfill the responsibilities," Sibal told reporters here.
Ashwani Kumar resigned Friday.