Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh): The Supreme Court (SC) on Tuesday disposed of a petition seeking reservation for advocates belonging to Other Backward Classes in the appointment of government pleaders in Madhya Pradesh, holding that no binding directions could be issued in the absence of a statutory mandate.
The apex court asked Advocate General (AG) to ensure due representation of lawyers from marginalised communities and women while making such appointments. “Legally, they may not have a right but at least AG has to consider,” the bench observed.
The bench of Justice MM Sundresh and Justice N Kotiswar Singh was hearing the plea, which alleged systematic under-representation of Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and OBC advocates in recent appointments made by the Advocate General’s office.
The petitioner contended that the absence of diversity in the State’s panel of law officers had wider institutional consequences for the legal profession.
Senior Advocate Varun Thakur said that in the latest round of appointments, not a single advocate from the Scheduled Tribe community had been selected, while only a limited number of Scheduled Caste advocates were accommodated.
Another senior advocate Rameshwar Thakur said, “MP HC had rejected plea for reservation of OBC, SC, ST stating that government pleaders’ post is not the post of public servant. So, OBC welfare association had challenged High Court order in Supreme Court in 2022.”
Appearing for the state government, counsel argued that appointments of government pleaders fall squarely within the prerogative of Advocate General who is entitled to choose a team to represent the State before the Supreme Court, High Court and other courts. The state government maintained that these appointments are not governed by statutory service rules or reservation norms applicable to public employment.
