Himahal law officer defends Anurag in SC against State Govt

New Delhi: The BJP government in Himachal Pradesh on Monday fielded its law officer in the Supreme Court against the state's Advocate General to defend party MP Anurag Thakur and the Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association as a "special case".

The state government told the top court that it wanted to withdraw Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association (HPCA) cases in the wake of a cabinet decision of January 17 deciding "to withdraw all politically motivated cases" instituted by the previous government "in the larger interest of governance".

A bench of Justices A K Sikri and Ashok Bhushan, however, put a spoke in the state government's attempt to withdraw the HPCA cases, asking whether the cabinet decision applied to these cases.

"We don't care what your policy is. You have to tell us specifically whether the cabinet decision applies to these cases," the bench told Advocate General Ashok Sharma, who was appearing for the state government.

Sharma said he would take specific instruction on the issue and sought some time from the apex court.

Senior advocate P S Patwalia, along with Additional Advocate General Abhinav Mukherjee appearing for Thakur, HPCA and others, said he too needed some time to go through the documents.