Mumbai: State departments will now not be able to draft and file affidavits unless they are vetted by the department secretaries and, in special cases, by the chief secretary of Maharashtra, and the Law and Judiciary Department. The government has, for the first time, put in place a standard operating procedure for filing affidavits.
The State has come in for criticism by the judiciary for delay in submission of affidavits related to matters of public importance.
“In all cases where the affidavits are to be filed on behalf of the chief secretary, such drafts be submitted to the chief secretary only after getting them vetted by the Law and Judiciary Department. It is experienced that such affidavits are forwarded to the Law and Judiciary Department and submitted to the office of chief secretary at the eleventh hour. This causes great inconvenience,” N.J. Jamadar, a senior official, said.
The order states that once the affidavit is approved by the chief secretary, the departments must obtain proper stamps and signature from the CS office. “We have seen in recent cases such as the removal of religious structures, the court was unhappy with the government delay in filing affidavits,” said a senior official of the urban development department.