M. JOSEPH Vs. THE GOVERNMENT OF TAMILNADU REP. BY COMMISSIONER AND SECRETARY, HOME COURTS-IV DEPARTMENT, CHENNAI,

JUDGEMENT

(1.) WRIT petitioner praying to issue a writ of mandamus directing the respondents to calculate the fees payable to the petitioner for the period from 1981 to 1985 when he worked as Government pleader, Madurai in accordance with Legal Practitioners' Fees Rules 1973.

(2.) IN the affidavit filed in support of the writ petition, the petitioner would submit that he worked as Government Pleader from 1981 to 1985; that at that time he represented the Government in many land acquisition cases of North Neighbourhood Scheme and immediately after the cases were disposed of seeking the certified copies of the judgment and decree for 86 cases along with the proforma, fee bills and advance stamp receipts; but in spite of several representations made to the respondents 2 to 4 since there was no response and ultimately he was given to understand that the fee was going to be calculated on the basis of G.O.Ms.no.900 Home (Courts) dated 10.5.1985; that he made representation to the District Revenue Officer, stating that the said Government order has no retrospective application, which could be applied to the case of the petitioner, since all those cases were disposed of prior to the passing of the Government Order and the court itself has fixed the fees payable to the Government Pleader that the fee payable to him as per the decree sent to the fourth respondent and the Tahsildar as fixed by the court had been calculated to Rs.1,00,000/ -; that the second respondent issued proceedings dated 26.3.1997 sanctioning a sum of Rs.2,000/ -only for five cases payable by the fifth respondent for whom the lands were acquired; that he had also sanctioned a further sum of Rs.2,000/ - for 28 LAOP cases as against the 28 decrees in all those cases each fixing a sum of Rs.2,000/ - towards Government Pleader's fees; when represented to the fourth respondent, he expressed his inability and helplessness saying that they have to follow G.O.Ms.no.900 Home (Courts) dated 10.5.1985 and hence, the writ petition, for the relief extracted supra.

(3.) HOWEVER , learned Additional Government Pleader would argue on instructions imparted to her and on the part of the learned A.G.P. she would lay emphasise on the averments of the writ petition and would emphatically deny the theory of the Government that the G.o.Ms.no.900 Home (Courts) dated 10.5.1985 would apply to the case of the petitioner, on account of two reasons; the first being the Government order is prospective in nature and no retrospective effect has been given to the same. Even if there is such a retrospective effect given to the Government order, it cannot be applicable to the case of the petitioner, since the fee has to be paid to the Government pleader for the cases conducted for which the fee has been fixed in each and every case by the court, which has passed the decrees in those cases and therefore citing the Government order, which is inapplicable to the case of the petitioner, the petitioner cannot be denied of his legal entitlement of getting the legal fee as it had been granted by the court.