Nagpur: Government lawyers, facing flak from the judiciary for “ineffectiveness”, claim to have been working without regular salaries since last eight to nine months. Thanks to the apathy of the state law and judiciary department, the salaries of majority of additional and assistant pleaders (AGPs) are yet to be released, citing one or the other reason. The government lawyers claim to be facing severe hardship in paying their monthly instalments of loans and school/college fees of their wards. They also claim the problem is not limited to Nagpur bench of Bombay high court alone.
Department principal secretary NJ Jamadar denied any delay, claiming they had recently released Rs50 lakh towards salary grants. “We had made a request to release their salary in the budget’s supplementary demands, and it was cleared. Within a couple of days, we would be releasing their entire dues,” he told TOI.
Even Justice Rohit Deo, who had recently censured AGPs and APPs for “ill-preparedness”, expressed strong displeasure after coming to know that they were working without salaries since eight to nine months. Terming the entire issue as “unacceptable” and “humiliating” to them, he observed that it might affect their morale and motivation to work. He directed senior counsel Sunil Manohar, appointed as amicus curiae to go through appraisal reports of AGPs and APPs, to look into the issue.
Explaining the salary structure, Jamadar said, GP and AGP salaries were released in a cycle of three months. “This is done so that they don’t get less salary in a particular month, as the salary depends on the number of cases they plead. Sometimes, they get a chance to argue more cases, payment for which would be adjusted over the next two months. There’s a ceiling of three months, which could get extended to six months if grants are not released in time,” he said, while asserting that GPs and AGPs are paid very handsomely.
On some newly-inducted AGPs getting salaries, while old ones are kept waiting, he said the amount was routed through the office of a joint secretary, where it was decided which bills to clear first. “The salary grants are usually released in the budget. If additional grants are needed, those need to be tabled in the supplementary demands,” he reiterated.
Agreeing with the HC’s observations, some AGPs told TOI that they had apprised their superiors regarding problems faced by them for want of salaries. They said it certainly affects motivation levels and concentration while pleading cases. They expressed surprise that those who joined much later in the GP office received their dues in time while seniors were left to fend for themselves.
