Today, On 20th August, The Gujarat High Court criticized the State for submitting poorly drafted affidavits, urging them to “put your house in order.” Chief Justice Sunita Agarwal expressed concern that the affidavits lacked proper para-wise replies to the writ petitions.
The Gujarat High Court, On Tuesday, reprimanded the State’s lawyers for not drafting adequate affidavits in response to writ petitions.
A Bench comprising Chief Justice Sunita Agarwal and Justice Pravav Trivedi pointed out that the affidavits submitted on behalf of the State lacked para-wise responses to the writ petitions.
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Chief Justice Agarwal told Additional Advocate General Mitesh R Amin,
“Your house is not in order, and this is a serious issue. You need to address this by meeting with all your Additional Government Pleaders (AGPs) and instructing them on proper affidavit drafting. If this continues, action must be taken as you are representing the State,”
In response, AAG Amin assured that corrective measures would be implemented and a meeting with all AGPs would be convened to discuss the matter.
Chief Justice Agarwal also raised the issue with the State’s Advocate General, Kamal B Trivedi, who was present in the courtroom.
Chief Justice Agarwal remarked,
“This is not an isolated incident; it has become routine. We’ve noticed similar issues in four or five cases, and there may be others we missed simply because we didn’t scrutinize the pleadings closely enough,”
AG Trivedi acknowledged the Court’s concern, saying,
“Milords are absolutely right! Without clear pleadings, it is very difficult to understand the State’s position.”
Chief Justice Agarwal questioned whether the State Government Pleaders (GPs) lacked knowledge on how to properly draft affidavits, warning that inadequate pleadings could jeopardize the State’s entire case.
Chief Justice Agarwal emphasized,
“We are documenting this in our judgment because there is no para-wise reply to the statements in the writ petition… No signatures of witnesses, no presence of witnesses on the spot… When this is not denied, it amounts to an admission,”
AG Trivedi concurred, stating,
“I understand, my lord, there must be a specific denial. We will ensure more care in the future.”
Chief Justice Agarwal recalled that the Court had previously pointed out similar issues to Additional Advocate General (AAG) Manisha Lavkumar in another case.
AAG Manisha Lavkumar, who also present, assured the Court that she had informed the concerned government pleader and issued the necessary instructions.
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Chief Justice Agarwal insisted on the need for a meeting among all government pleaders to address these recurring issues.
She instructed,
“I believe you need to convene a meeting with all government pleaders and AGPs, chaired by the three of you (AG Kamal B Trivedi and AAGs Mitesh R Amin and Manisha Lavkumar),”
The Court hearing an application for condonation of delay filed by the State in a land dispute case, for which the judgment was reserved.
Additional Advocate General Mitesh R Amin argued on behalf of the State, while Advocates Mrugen K Purohit, Ashish H Shah, and Anal S Shah represented the respondents.
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