The list includes the wife of the state's Advocate General, Atul Nanda, Rameeza Hakeem who was appointed as an Additional Advocate General.
The Captain Amarinder Singh-led Punjab government found itself in the dock after the names of relatives of several politicians and those of former judges and advocates were part of the list of 121 new law officers released by the state government.
The list includes the wife of the state's Advocate General, Atul Nanda, Rameeza Hakeem who was appointed as an Additional Advocate General.
AG Nanda was a member of the five-member selection committee that was formed under the guidelines of the Supreme Court to recommend a panel of names to the government, of which 121 law officers were selected. As many as 1,600 applications were received by the committee for various posts.
However, Nanda said that he did not participate in the meeting, which deliberated on the appointment of the Additional AG.
However, the coterie of names selected to represent the government in various legal cases has left the government facing allegations of nepotism. Sukhmani Bajwa, daughter of sitting Congress MLA from Qadian, Deepali Puri, wife of OSD to CM, SS Sandhu, Navanya Pasul, daughter of Haryana Congress leader Kuldip Sharma also figure in the list.
Dismissing the allegations, Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh asserted that every appointment of the new law officers in the state government was based on merit, after taking into account the professional qualifications and expertise of the candidates.
"All appointments were cleared independently, without bias or prejudice, and solely on account of individual's background, proficiency and experience," he said, adding that similar considerations were taken into account in appointment of daughter of Congress MLA Fateh Singh Bajwa.
Apart from the kin of Congress leaders, relatives of sitting judges, including former AGs were selected. Daughter of former AG GK Chatrath is also in the list.
Of the 121 law officers appointed, 25 are Additional AGs, 49 Assistant AGs, 30 Deputy AGs and 17 Sr Deputy AGs, some of whom will be tasked with specific duties across different courts. Also, 31 of them will be deputed to tackle the pending cases in Delhi, across various categories.
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