Khursheed ready to do the rescue work

The new law minister, Salman Khursheed, knows what he is in for: The job of building a bridge between hard-hitting courts and a cornered government. Zia Haq reports.

The new law minister, Salman Khursheed, knows what he is in for: The job of building a bridge between hard-hitting courts and a cornered government.

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Soon after being sworn in, the former lecturer in law at Trinity College, Oxford, told HT: "We will go to the courts in the spirit of cooperation."

Taking charge just when the country's top law officer, solicitor-general Gopal Subramanium, quit office in a huff, Khursheed said he would "find out what went wrong" and did not rule out talking to him.

Khursheed said his priorities aren't very different for his predecessor's, but disagreed that it is one about "defending" the government in courts of law, despite the judiciary ticking off the government several times over.

"It's not about defending the government. To defend would mean we are accused of something. It's all about simply representing the government's points of view adequately," he said, splitting some legal hairs.

Khursheed, who studied law at St. Edmund Hall, Oxford, said every law minister would always have to work for "fast and affordable" justice.

Asked how he would handle the scandal over 2G telecom licences, probe in to which is being monitored by the Supreme Court, Khursheed said: "We will have to find a better way of communicating to the courts."

He added, "The speaking voice of the courts and the speaking voice of the government may appear to be different. My duty will be to ensure they are understood well."