Lawyer bodies slam MP Bajwa, back advocate general Nanda

CHANDIGARH: The Bar Council of Punjab and Haryana and the Punjab and Haryana High Court Bar Association on Saturday came out in support of Punjab advocate general (AG) Atul Nanda, a day after Congress’ Rajya Sabha member Partap Singh Bajwa sought his ouster.

In the open letter to chief minister Capt Amarinder Singh on Friday, Bajwa sought immediate removal of Nanda as Punjab AG alleging that he failed in protecting interests of the state in court cases in the high court and Supreme Court.

“The advocate general is a high constitutional office under Article 165 of the Constitution of India and is not to be targeted to settle petty political scores,” said the bar council in a statement, adding that Bajwa was expected to conduct himself with “dignity and diligence”.

“His open letter has not only brought disrepute to the office of the advocate general, it has hurt the sentiments of the entire legal fraternity,” the bar council said. Punjab advocate general is ex-officio member of the Bar Council of Punjab and Haryana, a statutory body of 1 lakh lawyers in Punjab, Haryana and Chandigarh.

In its resolution, the Punjab and Haryana High Court Bar Association, a body of HC lawyers with nearly 4,000-odd members, said it was not concerned with political issues. “The AG is a legal officer under the Constitution. The Punjab AG office has 200 lawyers forming a part of the Bar. Such an attack is unfortunate and also unnecessarily and tarnishes the reputation of our fellow lawyers who form part of the said office,” the association said in a statement.