Haryana Additional Advocate General quits

Following CNN-IBN report on judges relatives being appointed as ‘Law Officers’, the Haryana Additional Advocate General Aditya Singh has resigned from his post. Aditya Singh is the son of Justice Alok Singh of Uttarakhand High Court and son-in-law of Justice R K Garg of the Punjab and Haryana High Court.The issue of Judges kith and kin practicing in the same court has always been discussed by the legal fraternity. Recently, the trend has gone one step ahead, the respective governments have started appointing close relatives of judges as ‘Law Officers’ in the same Court, where their relatives are serving as judges. It is reported that at least 30 senior law officers in Punjab and Haryana are related to judges.This practice is not confined to Punjab and Hariyana alone, and it is a pan India problem. Earlier, On 26th November, 2011 a Supreme Court Bench comprising of Justices Markandey Katju and Gyan Sudha Misra, while considering an Appeal from Allahabad High Court, said “In our opinion, the Division Bench of the High Court has rightly set aside the interim orders of the Single Judge dated 11.6.2010 and 18.6.2010 as these interim orders were clearly passed on extraneous considerations. The faith of the common man in the country is shaken to the core by such shocking and outrageous orders such as the kind which have been passed by the Single Judge. We are sorry to say but a lot of complaints are coming against certain Judges of the Allahabad High Court relating to their integrity. Some Judges have their kith and kin practising in the same Court, and within a few years of starting practice the sons or relations of the Judge become multi-millionaires, have huge bank balances, luxurious cars, huge houses and are enjoying a luxurious life. This is a far cry from the days when the sons and other relatives of Judges could derive no benefit from their relationship and had to struggle at the bar like any other lawyer”We do not mean to say that all lawyers who have close relations as Judges of the High Court are misusing that relationship. Some are scrupulously taking care that no one should lift a finger on this account. However, others are shamelessly taking advantage of this relationship. There are other serious complaints also against some Judges of the High Court “In Supreme Court, two State Governments have appointed one lawyer to represent them. Both State of Bihar and State of UP have appointed Mr. Ardhendumauli Kumar Prasad, son of Justice Chandramauli Kumar Prasad, a sitting judge of the Supreme Court, as their Law Officer. Justice Chandramauli Kumar Prasad was a judge in Patna High Court and Chief Justice of Allahabad High Court.

Haryana Additional Advocate General quits

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