GEORGE Vs. STATE OF KERALA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The petitioner, an Advocate practising before this Court, styles himself as a pro bono publico and raises the issue of there being no adequate representation of Scheduled Caste/Schedule Tribe candidates among the Government Pleaders appointed by the Government to conduct cases on its behalf before this Court. We are not convinced that this is a public interest litigation, since the petitioner himself a member of the Scheduled Tribe community, is one of the Advocates who was included in the panel sent by the Advocate General; but was not appointed by the Government. The petitioner contends that the Kerala Government Law Officers (Appointment and Conditions of Service) and Conduct of Cases Rules, 1978 prescribes, by proviso to R. 4, for appointment of Scheduled, Caste/Scheduled Tribe candidates and the same having not been followed, prays for the following reliefs:-

(2.) We are also not convinced that there is any mandatory rule for reservation of Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe candidates in the appointments made as per the aforementioned rules and the State cannot be compelled to appoint Advocates who, according to the State, may not be fit to handle cases on their behalf. Primarily the proviso to R. 4 only mandates inclusion of at least two names of Scheduled Caste/Scheduled Tribe candidates for every ten vacancies reported. The rule along with its proviso is extracted hereunder:-

(3.) The Government has filed a counter affidavit, contending that 110 Advocates were appointed as Government Pleaders/Special Government Pleaders/Senior Government Pleaders from a panel forwarded by the learned Advocate General. It is also an admitted fact that 21 persons belonging to Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe candidates found a place in the panel list which, according to us, complied with the proviso to R. 4, going by the number of persons who were eventually appointed. However, from among the 21 SC/ST candidates, only 6 were appointed by the Government to conduct their cases.