HC tells State to pay fee of pleaders in time

Expressing concern over prolonged delay in the payment of fees to public prosecutors and Government pleaders, the Bombay High Court today asked the State to evolve a scheme to ensure that the pleaders got their dues in time.
"How can you expect to retain public prosecutors or government pleaders of a good caliber if they were not paid dues in time?", asked a bench headed by Justice Abhay Oka.
The load on pleaders was increasing day by day and keeping their dues pending for years together was not a proper course, the Judges observed.
The Judges had sought help of the Advocate General Darius Khambata in this matter.

The Advocate General told the Court that he would discuss the issue with the Secretary of Law and Judiciary department and then inform the court what measures would be taken to ensure that the pleaders got their fees in time.
The court was hearing a petition filed by Suresh Kamble, a district pleader from Kolhapur, who sought a direction to the Government to pay his bills which were pending since 2002.

The petitioner prayed that some of his bills had been paid by the State but in respect of few others the government had raised queries and the payment was pending for many years.

The same bench had last month passed orders regarding insufficient payment and facilities to the pleaders in the Bombay High Court.
The judges said that on the same lines they would expect the state to evolve a scheme for payment to the district pleaders in time.
As regards non payment of dues to the petitioner, the bench asked the State to pay him immediately the amount on which there was no dispute, along with interest thereon.
For the rest, he can be asked to reply to the queries, the Judges said, while adjourning the matter to January 9.