Punjab & Haryana High Court orders Chandigarh to fill Deputy, Assistant District Attorney vacancies

The Punjab and Haryana High Court recently directed the Chandigarh administration to fill vacancies in the cadres of Deputy District Attorney and Assistant District Attorney in a time-bound manner [N.K. Nanda and another v. Union of India and others]..A Bench of Chief Justice Sheel Nagu and Justice Anil Kshetarpal passed the order after observing that these appointments were directly related to the speedy dispensation of justice in District Courts."Since the appointment and functioning of the District Attorney, Deputy District Attorney and Assistant District Attorney is directly relatable to speedy dispensation of justice in District Courts in the City of Chandigarh, this Court deems it appropriate to direct the U.T. Administration to fill up the vacancies in the cadres of Deputy District Attorney and Assistant District Attorney in a time bound manner," the Court said in its September 3 order..The Court, therefore directed the authorities to ensure that vacancies to these posts are filled by November end, after finalising and notifying the rules governing their appointment by mid-October. The Court also warned that if this timeline in not followed, the Home/Law Secretary of the Chandigarh Administration will personally be held liable and may even face contempt of court proceedings..The Court was dealing with a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) petition which had sought the filing-up of certain vacant posts in the cadre of Deputy and Assistant District Attorney in the Union Territory (UT) of Chandigarh. Counsel for the petitioners stated that there are thirty posts for Attorneys at the District Judiciary Level in Chandigarh in which two posts of District Attorney have been filled. However, it was submitted that out of the sanctioned strength of twelve Deputy District Attorneys, three posts remained vacant. Further, out of twenty sanctioned posts for Assistant District Attorneys, five remained unfilled..The counsel for the Chandigarh administration explained that delays in the finalisation of certain rules had made it difficult to fill these vacancies. The Court was informed that a policy decision had been taken in 2022 to follow the Central Government Rules for such recruitment. Until 2022, the Punjab Rules had been in vogue.It was further stated that the draft rules (Central Government Rules) have been prepared and are in the process of being finalised. .After taking note of these submissions, the Court ordered that the entire process of filling vacancies be completed latest by November 30, 2024. To ensure this, the Court has laid down the following timeline:(i) The draft rules shall be finalized latest by September 30, 2024. (ii) The advertisement be issued as soon as the draft rules are finalized and notified, but not later than October 15, 2024. (iii) Thereafter, the process of recruitment to the vacancies in the cadres of Deputy District Attorney and Assistant District Attorney be completed latest by November 30, 2024..It proceeded to dispose of the petition by granting liberty to the petitioners to file another application if this timeline is not adhered to by the Chandigarh administration. .Advocate Tushaar Madaan appeared for the petitioners.Additional Solicitor General of India (UOI) Satya Pal Jain with Senior Panel Counsel Rohit Verma and Maneesh Bali represented the Union of India.Additional Standing Counsel Jaivir Singh Chandail represented the Chandigarh administration..[Read Order]