Excelsior Correspondent
SRINAGAR, Oct 26: Minister for Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs, Syed Basharat Bukhari today said that all efforts are being made to streamline the functioning of Law Department and strengthen its presence in each line department.
The Minister said this while chairing a meeting of Administrative Secretaries of all departments to review status of various court cases and issues pertaining to Law Department.
Advocate General, Jammu & Kashmir, Jahangir Iqbal Ganai was also present in the meeting.
The Minister said that whenever an Act is enacted there is a provision for making rules under the said Act. He said that in order to carry out the objectives of the Act the Rules are required to be framed, while as it has been served that most of the departments have not framed Rules under the relevant Acts. He asked all Administrative Secretaries to take up an exercise for framing of Rules under such Acts where no such Rules have been framed, in a time bound manner.
The Minister stressed that State should be a model litigant, for which State Litigation Policy has already been notified by the Government. He added that every effort should be made to avoid unnecessary litigation, which will lessen the burden of ever increasing litigations before the courts. He directed the constitution of a committee headed by Advocate General comprising representatives of Law Department and concerned Administrative Secretaries for the purpose.
It was decided in the meeting that departments will examine cases on their merit and unnecessary litigation will be avoided. The Department will also formulate sub- committees to examine each case on its merit and accordingly a stand will be taken on behalf of the State before the court.
During the meeting, the Advocate General said that all Administrative Departments are required to identify sensitive cases having huge financial implications and impact on developmental activities of the State and prioritize them, and submit a list of such cases to Law Department so that these are monitored on regular basis and the response of the State Government is projected before the court in an effective and time bound manner. He also said that performance of AAGs, DAGs and Government Advocates will be reviewed regularly on the basis of feedback from the concerned departments.
It was decided in the meeting that a communication mechanism will institutionalized in the departments so that regular liaison could be maintained between the concerned departments and Advocates representing the State government before the courts.
Law Secretary Mohammad Ashraf Mir making a pointed reference said that all Administrative Departments shall appoint a liaison officer who should regularly interact with the office of Advocate General so that all necessary steps including filing of objections and obtaining cause list are taken in a time bound manner.
The Minister directed the concerned Administrative Secretaries to convene meetings of Departmental Promotion Committees at least twice a year and in case of any difficulty the matter be reported to Law Department.
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