NEW DELHI: The LG's rejection to acknowledge the panel of lawyers hired by the AAP-led government as valid and as per the law will force the AAP to pay the lawyers on its own. According to the sources, the decision to form a panel came after the bills of the lawyers who fought AAP government cases against the LG in Delhi high court have been lying pending for over two years. "Every government has the right to have its own panel of lawyers and in other states also they have such panels. It was our decision to form the panel and to pay them we needed the approval from the LG. He has now rejected the panel without any discussion with the government," said a senior AAP leader.
He added that just because Delhi has a special status that does not mean that the government has no right to choose its own lawyers and if they choose then the government will not be allowed to pay. "The BJP, Central government and even the LG have a group of lawyers who represent them. Does the BJP pay for the lawyers who represent the Central government," said a senior leader requesting anonymity. However, talking about the power of the LG, a senior lawyer said, "Yes the LG has the discretion to reject any panel for whatever reason. But it is expected that he would discuss the matter with the concerned minister of the law department. In Delhi, LG is the highest administrative authority hence he has some powers unlike the governors of the states." In a communication to Chief Secretary Anshu Prakash last week, LG Baijal's Principal Secretary Vijay Kumar cited "material infirmities" and "procedural lapses" regarding sections of the Transaction of Business Rules, 1993, and said that the orders regarding the panel had been issued without obtaining the approval of the LG, and were hence invalid. "These (orders) have also not been issued in the manner specified under Section 44 (2) GNCTD Act and have not been authenticated in the manner provided under Section 44 (3) of the said Act...," it stated. The chief secretary has also marked the copy of his order to pay and account offices of Delhi government for further action, resulting in non-payment to these lawyers.