The Indian Express    11.08.2012

Each civic body looks for own set of lawyers

In the absence of lawyers assigned to civic agencies, the East and South corporations have called in applications from senior advocates to represent them.

According to officials, a number of cases are pending in the Supreme Court and High Court. Lawyers representing the monolithic Municipal Corporation of Delhi do not know which of the three civic bodies they are now supposed to represent.

“It becomes problematic for lawyers who appeared for the unified civic agency. We may take different stands on one issue and thus lawyers dedicated to our corporation. Moreover, it will settle the issue of who would pay the lawyers. No civic agency wants to pay in a case involving all three agencies,” said a senior South corporation official.

East and South corporations have invited applications from advocates for an initial period of one year. The posts for which the applications have been called are Standing Counsel (Supreme Court), Additional Standing Counsel (Supreme Court), Advocate-on-Record (Supreme Court), Standing Counsel (High Court) and CAT, Additional Standing Counsel (High Court) and CAT, Panel Advocates (High Court), CAT. The selection committee will take applications till August 16.

The selected advocates will have to submit an undertaking stating that they will not represent the other two corporations.“Our lawyers will not appear against South corporation and North corporation in any court matters till they are on our panel,” said a senior East corporation official.