Consider quota on caste in law officers selection, says HC

CHENNAI: Consider amending the rules regarding appointment of law officers so as to provide caste-based representation and reservation to women within the Constitutional framework, the Madras high court has suggested to the Tamil Nadu government.
“These are only my suggestions; it is up to the government to decide. Also consider bringing in provision to revisit the rules periodically and to review the performance of the law officers,” the first bench of Chief Justice Indira Banerjee and Justice Abdul Quddhose said. The bench made the observations on a PIL moved by V Vasanthakumar seeking to amend the new rules framed by the government in line with the directions of the Supreme Court.

Though the state government has discretionary powers over such appointments, such discretion should be arbitrary. Neutral eligible advocates should also be considered for appoint of law officers. Mere rule saying that a candidate must resign from political affiliation before being appointed as law officer might not be sufficient. It must be ensured that the candidates are free from criminal antecedents, the bench said.

This apart, the court added that the petitioner was right in saying that there must be notices put up in the recognised advocates associations at least three to four months before such appointments inviting applications from prospective candidates. The bench then posted the plea to March 8 for directions.

During a recent hearing, the state government has defended the validity of the rules and asserted that they had been framed as per the discretionary power vested with the government to appoint law officers. It was argued that the new rules covered all aspects and ensure transparency, fair procedure and objectivity in the appointment of law officers.