The Supreme Court has taken a stern stance on the issue of changing panels of lawyers by states, emphasizing that while states have the freedom to alter their legal teams, such changes should not prejudice the functioning of the courts. 

In a recent development, a bench comprising Justices Abhay S Oka and Ujjal Bhuyan has summoned the Secretary of the Ministry of Law, State of Uttarakhand, to appear in court on April 1, 2024.

The matter came to light during a hearing, where the counsel representing the State of Uttarakhand revealed that despite filing a vakalatnama on January 31, 2024, no instructions were given to file a counter affidavit. This omission was attributed to the implementation of a new panel of state counsel from March 9, 2024.

The court expressed concern over such instances, noting that while states have the right to change their legal representatives, these changes must not impede the functioning of the courts or compromise justice. This statement came in response to observations that similar incidents had been occurring with other states as well.

The case under consideration originated from an order by the High Court on November 10, 2023. The order dismissed a bail plea filed by Sachin Kumar, an assistant proctor accused of aiding candidates in using unfair means during an examination conducted by the Uttarakhand Subordinate Service Selection Commission, Dehradun.

The High Court's single judge, in the aforementioned order, highlighted the seriousness of the offense, describing it as a case of utilizing unfair means in a public examination. The judge deemed the available evidence sufficient to reject the bail application, concluding that there were no grounds to grant bail to the applicant.

Case: SACHIN KUMAR vs. STATE OF UTTARAKHAND,

Petition(s) for Special Leave to Appeal (Crl.) No(s). 16513/2023. 

Click to read/download order.