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| 46 lawyers on board, yet PWD, Revenue engage private lawyer | | Hari-Tara Charitable Trust Case | | Syed Junaid Hashmi
Early Times Report
JAMMU, Dec 17: Raising serious questions on the competence of eminent lawyers appointed by Law Department to represent state government in various courts including High Court of Jammu and Kashmir and Supreme Court (SC), the Public Works Department (PWD) has engaged ex-Additional Advocate General (AAG) H.A.Siddiqui in the infamous Hari-Tara Charitable Trust case.
In the case, the litigant trust has asked Governor's office to vacate its premises which houses both residence as well as office of state's constitutional head. According to the details available with Early Times, Public Works Department (PWD) has engaged ex-AAG H.A.Siddiqui as its lawyer in the case despite the fact that Law Department has engaged more than 46 lawyers as Senior Additional Advocate Generals (AAGs), Additional Advocate Generals (AAGs) and Deputy Advocate Generals (DAGs).
This includes two prominent lawyers Seema Khajuria and S.S.Nanda who have been engaged as Senior Additional Advocate Generals (AAGs) besides other young and bright lawyers. Not only these two prominent faces of J&K judiciary, the battery of lawyers engaged by Law Department also include Advocate General (AG) and his two associates advocates. Sources said that H.A.Siddiqui has been chosen to represent the state by both the Revenue Deptt and the PWD jointly.
They added that the two departments sought permission from the Law Department stating that they have no choice available with them and they need an expert hand to contest the case since it is a high stakes case for the state government in the court of Principal and Sessions Judge, Jammu. Sources further said that Law Department told the two departments that they can engage a private lawyer to represent them in the lower court where the case has been filed.
After getting the opinion, the two departments jointly approached ex-AAG H.A.Siddiqui, who agreed to represent the state in the court of Principal and Sessions Judge, Jammu. Sources further said that Law Department had referred to the availability of eminent lawyers with it who could be asked to represent the state in this prestigious case but both the Revenue Deptt and the PWD said that they wanted H.A.Siddiqui to contest on their behalf in the court of law.
About the standing counsels in the lower court, the two departments had expressed reservations and stated that they wanted an experienced hand to contest the case. "They seemingly had no trust in the standing counsels engaged by the Law Department. It is because of this reason, they decided to engage a private lawyer who has already served as Additional Advocate General (AAG) in the NC-Congress coalition government," said an official of the Law Department.
Seeking the services of a private lawyer in a high profile case has surprised with veteran lawyers questioning hike in salaries of Senior Additional Advocate Generals (AAGs), Additional Advocate Generals (AAGs) and Deputy Advocate Generals (DAGs) besides increase in the allowance which is paid to the Departmental Standing Counsels (DSCs). |
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