Expedite finalisation of Rules for appointment of Puducherry Law Officers, Madras HC [Read Order]

The Madras High Court was recently appraised that the draft rules for the appointment of Law Officers for Puducherry would take three more months to finalise..A PIL had been filed by Advocate V Vasanthakumar, praying that rules be framed for appointment of Law Officers in a transparent and objective manner, in line with the 2016 Supreme Court ruling in State of Punjab & another v. Brijeshwar Singh Chahal & another..A similar plea by Vasanthakumar concerning rules for appointment of Law Officers to the Madras and Madurai Benches of the High Court had prompted the Court to direct the issuance of definite guidelines to ensure that the appointments are fair..As far as Puducherry is concerned, the Government informed the High Court that appointments were presently being made in line with Government Orders passed in 1969, 1981 and 1976. Whereas draft rules for appointment of Law Officers were prepared, they required modification following the Supreme Court’s subsequent order on the issue..Presently, the recruitment process for Law Officers to Puducherry includes selection by a government panel, a letter addressed to the Puducherry Chief Judge and approval by the Chief Justice of the Madras High Court. The qualification criteria and other terms and conditions are as per the above mentioned government orders..Accordingly, the government told the Bench of S Manikumar and Subramonium Prasad, that the a list of appointees for the post of Governmet Pleader, Additional Government Pleaders and Additional Public Prosecutors was also sent recently to the Chief Justice last June for approval..The Court noted that the Supreme Court in Brijeshwar Singh’s case had also permitted that such a procedure involving approval by the Chief Justice could be permitted until draft rules are framed for appointment of Law Officers..However, it has directed the Puducherry Government to expedite the reconsideration of the draft rules for appointment of Law Officers, in line with the Brijeshwar Singh ruling..The PIL was disposed of after taking on record the submission made by A Gandhiraj, Government Pleader (Puducherry) that the process of finalising rules for appointment of Law Officers for Puducherry, would require three more months..Read the Order: