The Lucknow Bench of the Allahabad High Court has directed the Principal Secretary (Law) file his personal affidavit indicating as to how such Standing Counsels have been appointed which do not even have the legal acumen or knowledge of relevant case laws.
A Single Bench of Justice Abdul Moin passed this order while hearing a petition filed by Dileep Kumar Dube.
The petition is again a glaring example of no assistance being rendered by the Standing Counsel.
The Court has been constrained to record the fact of no assistance being given by the Standing Counsel in another case while passing an order on 08.01.2024.
In this case too, the writ petition having been filed on 10.02.2023 and having been taken up on 14.02.2023 since then Standing Counsel has not even had the legal enlightenment to inform the Court that keeping in view the law laid down by the Apex Court in Civil Appeal: Ram Kumar vs State of U.P and others dated 28.09.2022, a subsequent allottee has to be impleaded as a party.
The petition has been filed challenging the cancellation of fair price shop license dated 03.06.2022 as upheld with dismissal of appeal vide order dated 03.01.2023.
Despite lapse of almost a year Standing Counsel has failed to inform the Court or to give legal assistance on the point that in view of the judgement of the Apex Court in the case of Ram Kumar (supra) that subsequent allottee has to be impleaded as a party, the Court noted.
Considering the order already passed by the Court in the case of Mangala (supra), the Court again required that a copy of the order be placed before Principal Secretary (Law), Uttar Pradesh as well as Advocate General, Uttar Pradesh within three days.
“The Principal Secretary (Law) shall file his personal affidavit indicating as to how such Standing Counsels have been appointed which do not even have the legal acumen or knowledge of relevant case laws having a bearing on the cases being taken up and of informing the Court about judgements which have been passed from time to time by the Apex Court and which have got a direct bearing in the matters which are being listed before the Court and as to how the piquant situation is to be addressed.
Let a personal affidavit be filed in this regard by the Principal Secretary (Law) within two weeks indicating all the aforesaid facts failing which the Court may summon the Principal Secretary (Law) before the Court”, the order reads.
The Court has fixed the next hearing of the petition on January 24, 2024