Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal has expressed his displeasure at the functioning of the law Department, according to sources, who said the fact had emerged at heads of departments (HoDs) meeting on Monday.
At a recent meeting of the HoDs, which is generally presided over by Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia, Kejriwal lambasted the senior officers of the law Department for their utter failure in handling the Government cases pending in various city courts. The CM was reportedly surprised over the fact that many cases were pending in courts without any proper listing. He pointed out that the law department was not having proper list about the standing counsel or their junior lawyers who were representing the Government in various court cases.
A note prepared in the meeting accessed by The Pioneer, said more than one occasion while the department had appointed new counsel but the old one appeared in the court causing a major embarrassment to the Government. The CM directed all the HoDs to furnish details of all court cases along with standing counsel who were representing them.
Kejriwal told the officers that senior counsels do not generally file petitions and they argue on behalf of the Government in various courts. He said the junior counsel were mainly responsible for preparing and filing of petitions in courts. He said the distinction between the senior and junior counsel was essential for protocol reasons.
He said only senior officers of the department who were well versed with the matter should meet the senior counsel for briefings. He also emphasised that there should be proper coordination between the Government lawyers to ensure petitions and their replies are filed on time in courts.
The CM made it clear to his team that only senior officers of the department should attend briefings fixed by senior counsel at their respective offices even if it was outside the High Court premises beyond normal timings. He directed all the departments that they should send the list of their cases within a week to the law department.