Haryana admits to ‘backdoor appointments’ of law officers

According to the documents (in possession of The Indian Express ),the state had intimated the CAG that “it is the choice,prerogative and discretion of the government to engage such law officers to defend,plead their cases through whom it has faith,confidence and trust,which may be based on word of mouth and performance.

“The government has to take a decision to engage law officers keeping in view the fact as to how its interests can be safeguarded in the best possible manner. To achieve the aforesaid purpose,the government makes contractual appointments as and when the necessity for the same arises,on the terms and conditions as the government deems appropriate for the same”.

Earlier this month,The Indian Express had highlighted how Haryana AG office has appointed the kith and kin of high and mighty including that of over a dozen High Court judges as law officers. There are at least 17 former,retired and sitting judges of various courts whose wards have been appointed as law officers in the Haryana AG office.

While replying to the CAG,the state government had also cited that “the issue with regard to appointment of law officers has arisen in various states like Andhra Pradesh,Uttar Pradesh,Rajasthan… usually on grounds of transparency,criteria,their being no mode of selection and no statutory rules.”

Further justifying its appointments,the state cited a part of a Supreme Court judgement stating that “the government of a state as a litigant can appoint as many lawyers as it likes to defend it. For the said purpose,the state is not prohibited from conferring such designation on such legal practitioners as it may deem fit and proper”.

“The appointments,may,therefore,be made on considerations other than merit and there exists no provision to prevent such appointments. The method of appointment is indeed not calculated to ensure that the meritorious alone will always be appointed… in the absence of guidelines,the appointments may be made purely on personal or political considerations,and be arbitrary,” Haryana said citing another Supreme Court order.

However,the order further reads that “those who come to be appointed by such arbitrary procedure can hardly complain if the termination of their appointment is equally arbitrary. Those who come by the backdoor have to go by the same door”.

The Haryana government had given another justification for the arbitrary appointments of law officers saying,“This practice and procedure adopted in engagement of law officers has been in vogue from the very inception and neither any grievance has been raised nor has the same resulted in any anomaly”.