The Bombay High Court will see a conglomeration of the top legal luminaries of the country on Tuesday.
Aspirants for the DGP post have hired top-notch lawyers to press their case in high court
The Bombay High Court will see a conglomeration of the top legal luminaries of the country on Tuesday. They will represent their respective clients in an appeal filed by the state DGP AN Roy and the government of Maharashtra against the Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT) order that set aside Roy’s appointment as state DGP.
Roy has hired Harish Salve, one of the top lawyers in the country, to plead his case before a division bench headed by chief justice Swatantar Kumar. The state of Maharashtra will be represented by the advocate general Ravi Kadam. The original complainant in the CAT, S Chakaraborti has lined up yet another top legal brain Iqbal Chagla to buttress his case for the job of the top cop in the state.
Giving a new twist to the legal battle, IPS officer SS Virk has also decided to enter as an intervener and put forward his own case. Virk has appointed the legal firm of stalwart Ram Jethmalani to fight his case.
The fight for the DGP’s chair is turning up to be a costly affair for all the claimants as the top-notch legal brains charge more than Rs1 lakh for each appearance.
According to legal fraternity sources, Salve charges anywhere between Rs2-3 lakh per appearance if called to argue in New Delhi. If he has to appear outside the capital, the fees is many time over the said amount. Similarly, Chagla charges over Rs1 lakh per hearing if the same is held in Mumbai. The fees charged by Jethmalani’s firm are not known as it is decided on the merit and importance of the case in question.
However, the sources said that if called to appear outside of their hometown, the lawyers also charge to and fro airfare and five-star hotel accommodation.
It would also be interesting to see what Salve has to say against Virk in the high court on Tuesday. Earlier during the several cases contested between Virk and the Punjab government, several top-notch lawyers like Soli Sorabjee, Venugopal, PP Rao, Nageshwar Rao and Salve appeared in various courts and tribunals, including the Supreme Court.
While appearing for Virk in the Supreme Court, Salve had said that Virk was not under suspension and thus should be appointed as DGP Maharashtra. The same is mentioned in the apex court’s interim order.
Now, Salve’s client AN Roy has mentioned in his petition that Virk was under suspension and thus was not considered for DGP’s post.
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