CHENNAI: The Madras High Court on Wednesday expressed displeasure over the chief secretary of Tamil Nadu for lack of compliance with its order. The court granted 30 days time to the chief secretary to comply with its order.
The high court in an order on July 18, 2023 had directed the chief secretary to appoint a nodal officer to deal with the nomination of Advocate General and Additional Advocate General for appearing in important cases by or against the state government and its departments.
The directions were issued in a case regarding non-payment of fees to advocates who represent government and its departments in various cases before the courts. To resolve the disputes on advocate appointment and payment, the Advocate General (AG), in a letter to the government dated June 8 had made various suggestions, including appointment of a nodal officer to deal with the matter and during the course of hearing, the high court took cognisance of the AG’s suggestions and issued directions to the government in its July 18 order.
The court had also directed the government to pass a G.O regarding the same and file a compliance report on August 28. When the matter came up for hearing again, the government sought three months time to comply with the order. “A guideline has to be framed and a policy decision has to be arrived in consultation with various departments, some more time is required in this matter,” the government stated in the court. The court expressed displeasure over the time period sought by the government and granted it 30 days to comply with its directions. It also directed the government to file a compliance report on September 26.