Law officers’ selection courts controversy

Chandigarh, Members of the PPCC’s legal cell are upset at being left out of the first batch of 121 law officers despite their party being in power. Some of these rejected candidates met state party president Sunil Jakhar, who assured them to take up the matter with the Chief Minister. The CM has, however, already said all selections were based on merit and deserving candidates could not be ignored just because they were related to someone in power. But the legal cell members have questioned the selection process as no test or interview was held. The government had advertised 160 posts. The remaining will be filled soon. The selection list, released two days ago, has already stirred a controversy. While about 40 law officers with the previous SAD-BJP government have been retained, most others are close relatives of influential persons. Among them are Rameeza Hakeem, wife of Advocate General Atul Nanda; Sukhmani Bajwa, daughter of Congress legislator Fateh Jang Bajwa; Deepali Puri, wife of Amarinder’s OSD Sandeep Sandhu; and Anu Chatrath, former Chandigarh Mayor. Besides, relatives of sitting and former judges, bureaucrats and politicians are on the list. Not a single advocate recommended by the PPCC has been selected, said sources. “I have fought cases of Congress workers for free in the last 10 years. I faced threats, while some of my colleagues were attacked. We were hoping to get some position, but not a single member has been selected,” said an advocate. “We are being ridiculed by advocates of other parties. We sacrificed so much. We fought false cases. We were kept away from the bar associations as those close to the SAD-BJP held the sway and now some of them are again selected in the AG office,” said another member. Advocates have alleged that some of the selected officers did not have the requisite experience or mandatory annual income. “On the contrary, many in the legal cell have remained busy advocates and made a name for themselves, still they didn’t find favour with the selection committee,” said a senior member of the legal cell.