Chennai: The Madras high court directed the state transport department to ensure that only persons with legal qualifications are promoted/appointed to posts that handle legal or potential claims.
Disposing of a petition from C. Subramani, a division bench comprising justices N. Paul Vasanthakumar and R. Mahadevan, rejected his plea to promote him and made it clear that promotions and appointments already made shall not be disturbed.
The bench said in case of disciplinary cases, personnel and wages welfare departments, one might have to handle cases relating to different branches of labour and welfare legislation.
In the case of accident claims, one deals with insurance policies, Central or state motor vehicle laws, amongst other laws relating to procedure and evidence. In all categories, the person may not only have to deal with inter-departmental legal issues, but may also be entrusted with the work of handling court cases.
At times, the courts have also come across cases where claims were being contested only to settle personal scores, without any legal basis, particularly on settled issues.
Time and again, this court and the apex court have stressed that government departments should refrain from contesting or filing appeals in all cases, as it would not only save the time of the court but also save government revenue and avoid the harassment that a litigant is put to.
Ignorance of fact is excusable, but not of law. The same was the litigation policy of the state and Central governments. Whether the issue raised in a case is a settled issue or not and any arguable point is available can be decided prima facie only by a legally trained person possessing a B.L. degree.
Therefore, whenever a vacancy of assistant manager in the department of disciplinary proceedings, Motor Accident Claims Tribunal, personnel and wages welfare department arises, persons who possess a law degree must be appointed, if he is otherwise qualified, the bench added.
The bench said the common service rules itself provide that when the post cannot be filled by promotion, it shall be filled up only by direct recruitment. It goes without saying that a direct recruitee shall also possess a B.L. degree.
With regard to the filling up of the post of senior superintendent (legal), the same analogy shall be applied and only persons with legal background shall be appointed, the bench added.
