Many Cases Being Adjourned For Want Of State Counsel: Rajasthan High Court Seeks Governor's Intervention

Recently, Rajasthan High Court has criticized the state government for its lukewarm approach in conducting litigation despite repeatedly drawing the attention of the Chief Secretary and Principal Secretary (Law) to the pressing issue of lack of representation. The single-judge bench of Justice Ganesh Ram Meena made the adverse remarks when the State sought additional time for filing a reply to the petition preferred for appointment to the Post of Teacher Grade-III (Special Education). The court, while considering the state's plea for three weeks' additional time, pointed out that the copy of the petition was served at the AAG's office in 2020 itself as per the court's instructions. “….The lethargic approach of the respondent-authority shows that the respondents are not acting as a welfare State and such kind of approach may lead to catastrophic situation for the whole litigation and justice system for which the poor unemployed litigants are coming to the Courts”, the bench sitting at Jaipur added that the petitioners are unemployed persons seeking respite from the court, and the purported 'welfare' state has been seeking adjournments to file a reply in the matter since 2020. The court also did not take lightly the absence of representation from the state in matters where it is one of the concerned parties. The court emphasised that this worrisome practice has been noticed by the court for the last two months. Many cases are getting adjourned since there is no representation by the state counsel, the court further noted. “….Many a times, it has been brought to notice of the Chief Secretary of Rajasthan and Principal Secretary, Law and Legal Affairs Department, Government of Rajasthan but till date no satisfactory arrangement has been made for representation of the State…”, the court opined. There was even an instance of none appearing for the state 2-3 times in a litigation that has been instituted by the state itself, the court further elucidated the current state of affairs. Considering this scenario, the court deemed it fit to let the Governor of Rajasthan intervene. The court has asked the Governor to issue appropriate directions to the government to ensure that the state's interests are safeguarded in the process of litigation. In the present case, the court finally gave the state two weeks to file the reply by making it clear that no further time would be granted. Justice Ganesh Ram Meena has also warned the state of imposing a cost of Rs 10,000/- from it to each of the petitioners if the state fails to file a reply by the next listing date. For Petitioners: Advocate Jai Raj Tantia For Respondents: Advocates Rahul Gupta & Mr. Shubhendu Pilania for Basant Singh Chhaba, AAG Case Title: Rekha Kumari v. State of Rajasthan & Connected Matters Case No: S.B. Civil Writ Petition No. 3015/2019 & Ors.a Click Here To Read/Download Judgment

Many Cases Being Adjourned For Want Of State Counsel: Rajasthan High Court Seeks Governor's Intervention

Sebin James

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