The Curious Case Of Kapil Sibal: Argues For Anil Ambani As A Lawyer, Attacks Him As A Politician

Veteran Congress leader and senior lawyer Kapil Sibal faced heavy criticism from the ruling BJP after attacking Anil Ambani on Twitter on the issue of the Rafale deal, and then during the same day appearing for Ambani’s company Reliance Communications in the Supreme Court, reports TOI.

"It seems Airbus, French government, Anil Ambani all knew that the PM will sign an MoU on his visit to France between 9 and 11 April, 2015. This government's lies exposed," Sibal’s tweet read.

In a few minutes following this tweet, Sibal was inside a courtroom of the apex court, representing Ambani in a contempt petition filed by Ericsson India against Reliance Communications.

The BJP was quick to call him out on the two contradictory roles he was playing. The party’s spokesperson and Supreme Court lawyer, Nalin Kohli, stated, "There is no restriction on a senior advocate appearing in any matter. However, the apparent conflict in Sibal's two positions on Anil Ambani bring into focus questions of propriety that need to be addressed both by the advocate and his political leaders."

Sibal did not find his two stances to be contradictory. "I was representing Reliance Communications against Ericsson and this has nothing to do with Rafale. This is a corporate fight and Anil Ambani is the MD. I have been appearing for them for 20 years," he remarked.

All India Congress Committee (AICC) spokesperson Randeep Surjewala also came to Sibal’s defence, reasoning that the Congress leader had made his political stance on Ambani clear, and was only appearing in the court matter in his professional capacity as an advocate.