Having suffered setbacks in several cases in the city courts, the AAP Government has finally woken up and has decided to impart special training to the nodal officers of different departments for proper follow up and update of legal matters.
The matter was discussed at a high-level meeting, which was attended by principal secretaries, secretaries and heads of departments and chaired by Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia.
The issue was reportedly raised following complaints that the nodal officers were not fully aware about the cases being contested by the Government in the national Capital. One of the main reasons being cited for lack of awareness of the nodal officers was due to their frequent transfers and lack of training imparted to them. The Delhi Government has initiated the process to stem the rot. It has been revealed that counsels on the panel of Delhi Government do not do leg work and as a result the Delhi Government looks silly in most of the cases.
A source said that standing instructions were given to the officers to impart proper training to nodal officers and top priority be accorded to fill up all vacant posts on a priority. The nodal officers of all the departments have been instructed to provide regular updates about the progress and status of important court cases to the law department.
The source said that all HoDs were told in no certain terms to submit list of cases where other than empanelled lawyers had been appointed and about the authority who had approved these appointments. They were instructed that any case, which requires higher level of attention, should be brought to the notice of the Minister concerned.
Officers informed the Deputy Chief Minister that there were one senior standing counsel and eight standing counsel on the rolls of the law department. The Delhi Government’s senior standing counsel, who also attended the meeting, requested all the officers to try to resolve the grievances of the employees and public to avoid litigations on small issues. He also requested the officers to give timely briefings so that the cases could be defended in a better way. He asked the officers to provide their contact numbers for better coordination.