Salary of govt advocate case W.A.No.1102 of 2012 SURESH KUMAR, J. AND K.KUMARESH BABU, J. (Order of the Court was made by R.SURESH KUMAR, J.)

W.A.No.1102 of 2012

1. SURESH KUMAR, J. AND

K.KUMARESH BABU, J.

(Order of the Court was made by R.SURESH KUMAR, J.)

Pursuant to our earlier order dated 28.08.2023, where, as sought for by the appellant / State, one month time was given to appoint a Nodal Officer for sanctioning of fee bills being claimed by the law officers of the State and also for nominations to be issued for appearance by Advocate General as well as Additional Advocate Generals, when the case is taken up for hearing today, Mr.R.Shunmugasundaram learned Advocate General, who appeared in this case for the appellant has submitted that, some measures have been taken by the appellant / State in line with the directions already been issued by this Court to streamline the nomination as well as clearance of the bills of the law officers.

2. In this context, the learned Advocate General has relied upon the affidavit filed by the Chief Secretary to the Government of Tamil Nadu dated

25.07.2023, where the Chief Secretary has inter alia stated the following:

” 6. It is humbly submitted that the issue relating to sanctioning of fees to AG / AAGs has always been given highest priority in the Government.  In order to avoid problems faced by the Law Officers in getting the fee bills on time, Government has introduced a “Fee Payment Module” in the Court Case Monitoring System website. Through this “Fee Payment Module” the AG/AAGs can receive formal sanction order for appearance and send their fee bills directly to the department concerned.  The respective Departments can send the disbursement particulars to the concerned Advocate General / Additional Advocate Generals after settlement of bills and the status of bills can also be reviewed and tracked at any time.  A screen shot of the portal is given in the Annexure-I.

7. It is humbly submitted that instructions have been issued to all Secretaries to Government to settle the fee bills of the Law Officers only through this “Fee Payment Module” from 10.04.2003 onwards vide Letter No.7135/CCMS/2023-2 dated 10.04.2023. This instruction is in line with the initiative of the Hon’ble High Court directing all affidavit / counter affidavit be filed only through online mandatory from 01.09.2023.
8. It is humbly submitted that the Chief Secretary has also issued order designating the Public Secretary as “Nodal Secretary” for settlement of fee bills of Law Officers through Court Case Monitoring System (CCMS) on time as per the directions of this Hon’ble Court vide Letter No.18609/L.O/2023-1, dated 12.09.2023. Copy is enclosed in the Annexure-II.
9. It is humbly submitted that the National Informatics Centre (NIC) has conducted training programme to all departments of Secretariat and HODs on 05.04.2023, 18.05.2023 and 19.05.2023 on the use of “Fee Payment Module.” The Public department vide its letter No.7135/CCMS/2023-2 dated 10.04.2023 has issued an instruction to the National Informatics Centre (NIC) to conduct regular training programmes for officials of various departments to effectively utilize the “Fee Payment Module” for settlement of fee bills.
10. Further, it is humbly submitted that in order to expedite the process of settlement of fee bills, “Nodal Officers” in each department have been appointed in the rank of Deputy Secretary / Joint Secretary / Additional Secretary and they have been fixed with the responsibility of settlement of fee bills through this “Fee Payment Module” within a period of one month from receipt of bills.  They have been instructed to submit periodical reports to the respective Secretaries with respect to settlement of fee bills.  Regular monthly review meeting with the Nodal Officers is also being conducted by the designated nodal secretary viz., the Public Secretary to review the status of court cases and pending bills of Law Officers.  The last meeting was held on 14.09.2023.
11. It is humbly submitted that in the letter No.17943/LO/20233 dated 12.09.2023 the AG / the AAGs have been requested to send the fee bills for their conference / vetting of affidavit / appearance only through “Fee Payment Module” in the CCMS website.
12. It is humbly submitted that with effect from 10.04.2023, the CCMS Fee Payment Module for Law Officers is working seamless. The pending fee bills of the AG / AAGs are uploaded and settlement by the Government through the CCMS portal, which shows that the system is working properly.
13. Further, it is humbly submitted that all Secretaries have

been instructed to sensitise issues relating to settlement of fees to law officers and take conscious steps for immediate settlement of fee bills and they have been instructed to settle the fee bills within one month. Every month, the status of fee bills of AG/AAGs are being reviewed by the Chief Secretary in all Secretaries meeting and the department having dues are instructed to clear the bills at once.  The list of pending fee bills reviewed in the latest all Secretaries meeting is given in the Annexure-II.

14. Further, it is humbly submitted that in addition, to make sure the procedure easier and to avoid inconvenience in getting frequent orders in circulation from the Hon’ble CM who is incharge of the subject law officers in the Government, the powers for sanctioning of appearance and settlement of fees to Law Officers have been delegated to the Hon’ble Minister for Law.”
15. Relying upon these averments made by the Chief Secretary to the

Government the learned Advocate General would contend that, since the Public Secretary has been designated as Nodal Officer as directed by this Court for settlement of bills for law officers through Court Case Management System (CCMS), and in every department, either Deputy Secretary or Joint Secretary has been nominated / appointed as Nodal Officers to take care of the clearing of the fee bills of the Law Officers through the Fee Payment Module and monthly meeting also has been envisaged to take stock of the situation then and there, the learned Advocate General submits that, let this system go on for some time at least for some months and thereafter depending upon the workability of this system, if further review is needed, that can be considered.

4. We have gone through the averments made by the Chief Secretary to the Government in the affidavit, where he has stated that, by letter dated 12.09.2023, the Public Secretary has been nominated as Nodal Officer for Court Case Management System (CCMS) and like that, for each department, Nodal Officers in the rank of Deputy Secretary / Joint Secretary / Additional Secretary have been fixed with the responsibility of settlement of fee bills through this “Fee Payment Module” within a period of one month from receipt of bills.
5. It has further been stated that, those Nodal Officers have been instructed to submit periodical reports to the respective Secretaries with respect to settlement of fee bills. Also, regular monthly review meeting with the Nodal Officers is also being conducted by the designated nodal secretary viz., the Public Secretary to review the status of court cases and pending bills of Law Officers.  The last meeting was held on 14.09.2023.
6. It has further been stated that the Advocate General and the Additional Advocate Generals had already been requested to send the fee bills for their conference / vetting of affidavit / appearance only through “Fee Payment Module” in the CCMS website.
7. It has been further stated by the Chief Secretary in the affidavit that, to make sure the procedure easier and to avoid inconvenience in getting frequent orders in circulation from the Hon’ble CM who is incharge of the subject law officers in the Government, the powers for sanctioning of appearance and settlement of fees to Law Officers have been delegated to the Hon’ble Minister for Law. Therefore, all measures have been taken to ensure timely settlement of fee bills to AG and AAGs.
8. Even though it is mentioned in the said affidavit by the Chief Secretary that the system has been created to clear the bills within time to the AG and AAGs, it is meant for all Law Officers, from Government Advocate to Advocate General. This position as clarified by the learned Advocate General is taken on record. It is also clarified that ‘all Law Officers’ means Law Officers of the present as well as the past.
9. After having taken note of the averments made in the affidavit filed by the Chief Secretary to the Government and after hearing the learned Advocate General, we are of the view that let the system now envisaged be in execution for the next three months period and thereafter, the workability of this system and its effectiveness whether in the expected line or not, can be reviewed.
10. For the aforesaid purpose, call this case on 12.2023.

(R.S.K.,J.)             (K.B.,J.)

   27.09.2023

KST

Note : Issue order copy today (27.09.2023)

1. SURESH KUMAR, J.

AND

K.KUMARESH BABU, J. kst

W.A.No.1102 of 2012

(Next Hearing Date : 20.12.2023)

27.09.2023