ARPANA KUMARI Vs. STATE OF BIHAR

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The present writ petition has been filed for quashing the letter dtd. 1/10/2020 and the press communication dtd. 24/9/2020 issued by the Principal Secretary, Revenue and Land Reforms Department, Government of Bihar, Patna (Respondent No. 2) and the Law Secretary, Law Department, Government of Bihar, Patna (Respondent No. 3) respectively, whereby and where under the panel of Advocates, who were conducting the cases of land ceiling, consolidation and boundary disputes, has been cancelled and it has been directed to constitute a panel of Advocates for conducting the cases on behalf of the State Government and send the names of the Advocates with their experience and bio-data so that Law Department may make a panel of the Government Pleaders for the Revenue Department for conducting its cases.

(2.) The brief facts of the case are that the petitioners were appointed as Assistant Government Pleaders along with 19 other Advocates, apart from two Special Government Pleaders for conducting the cases of land ceiling, consolidation and boundary dispute matters vide memo dtd. 22/2/2012, issued by the Respondent No. 3, for a period of three years and it was stipulated therein that the said panel Advocates would be entitled to the pre-fixed fees. The petitioners are stated to have started contesting the cases on behalf of the State Government.

(3.) The learned counsel for the petitioners has submitted that though the aforesaid panel and the term of the Advocates had lapsed on 22/2/2015 but the same had been extended with effect from 23/5/2015 to 22/7/2015 and again, it was extended from time to time up to 31/3/2020. It is also pointed out that in the month of February, 2015, the respondent no. 2 had advertised the post of Special Government Pleaders as well as Additional Government Pleaders for the Revenue Department and applications were invited by email, in response whereof, more than 2000 Advocates had applied. It is submitted that the last date for filing application was extended up to 15/4/2015, whereupon 1000 more applications were received by the Respondents. Nonetheless, without proceeding further with the aforesaid advertisement of the year 2015, another advertisement was published in the month of May, 2018 and thereafter, many Advocates had filled application forms, in pursuance whereof, a panel was prepared but the same was cancelled inasmuch as the reservation rules had not been followed.