In the wake of hundreds of cases filed by young aspirants against the Kerala Public Service Commission (KPSC) pending before the Kerala Administrative Tribunal and lack of enough defence counsels for the Commission, the Indian Association of Lawyers (IAL) has urged the PSC to constitute a panel of legal retainers (standing counsels) for the speedy disposal of cases.
“One legal retainer of the PSC looks after thousands of cases coming before the High Court as well as the KAT. All the litigants want their grievances to be addressed at a faster pace,” IAL national executive member and Kerala chapter vice- president Vazhuthacaud R Narendran Nair said.
The head office of the legal retainer is housed in Ernakulam and the PSC head office is located here. As such the office in Ernakulam should be informed about the details of all the cases filed before the KAT for preparation of counter-affidavit and then it should be redirected to the capital city for filing the case.
“This huge time consuming process results in putting the justice-seekers in the dark. The very purpose of establishing the KAT here was to cut short the huge expenses involved in conducting cases as almost all the head offices of government and semi-government institutions are located here,” Narendran said in his petition filed before the PSC chairman.
“Considering the enormous workload of the present single legal retainer, who is stationed in Ernakulam, appointment of a panel of permanent legal retainers to PSC for dealing cases coming before the KAT will be a great relief as far as litigants are concerned,” he said.