Govt picks its lawyers at will,is sorry

The court,however,refused to grant two months’ time and asked the government to file a fresh affidavit on Tuesday,mentioning a deadline by which they would be framing the rules.

An officer of the Under Secretary rank in the Legal Department,Vipul Raval,affirmed an affidavit to this effect today after a single-judge bench of Justice M R Shah ordered the government to clarify its inaction in not complying with the HC directions given in 1971.

“…I apologise for not taking any step pursuant to the order dated 25.06.1971…,” said Raval,adding the order “seems” to be not complied with by the state authority till date. The government also stated that the file pertaining to steps having been taken by it following the 1971 order was “not traceable”.

“It is required to be noted that there are no specific written norms for appointment of SPPs as directed by the court in 1971… after going through the judgment,the Legal Department has put up the file for steps to be taken as directed by the court…,” Raval stated in the affidavit.

The issue of government inaction in not framing rules despite directions has been raised by one Madhavdas Asar from Jamnagar district. Asar is a murder accused and the government has appointed a private lawyer as an SPP in the case. His lawyer has alleged discrimination in appointments of SPPs.