Advocate General Anup Rattan, while presiding over the valedictory session of a day-long workshop organised by the Public Works department here on Saturday evening, stressed on establishing a more structured and efficient system for managing court cases.
He said that court replies and legal submissions should ideally be prepared at the headquarter level to ensure consistency, accuracy and effectiveness in legal representation. This would not only strengthen the position of the department in legal matters but also ensure timely and proper defence of government actions in courts.
Anup Rattan said that departmental decisions must be rooted in a strong legal foundation so that they hold up during judicial review. He said that the departmental decisions should be taken after due legal scrutiny and should be capable of withstanding court challenges.
Addressing the growing number of court cases, particularly those relating to land acquisition, the Advocate General said that the officers and engineers needed to be well-versed with relevant laws. He recommended that PWD engineers should familiarize themselves with the arbitration and conciliation Act to better handle legal complexities arising in land and compensation matters.
He further said that a proactive and coordinated approach between legal and technical wings of the department is necessary. With increasing legal awareness among citizens, the number of court cases has gone up substantially. In such a scenario an effective institutional mechanism is the need of the hour.
The Advocate General also distributed participation certificates to the attendees on the occasion. Chief Engineer (Projects), HPPWD Surinder Pal Jagota delivered the vote of thanks.
Principal Secretary (Law) Sharad Kumar Lagwal, Secretary PWD Dr. Abhishek Jain, Special Secretary PWD Harbans Singh Brascon, Retired Principal Secretary (Law) J.N. Barowalia and District Attorney (HPPWD) Jagdish Rajta along with other senior officers were present on the occasion.