Anandpur Sahib Congress MP Manish Tewari on Wednesday took a dig at the Punjab government’s decision to replace advocate general APS Deol, saying that politicising the AG’s office undermines the integrity of constitutional functionaries.
In three tweets, Tewari said that both previous advocate generals of Punjab became “punching bags in proxy political wars”. “Those who subvert the institution of the AG’s office need to remember a lawyer is neither wedded to a client or a brief,” he posted on Twitter without naming Punjab Congress chief Navjot Singh Sidhu.
The Charanjit Singh Channi government on Tuesday accepted the resignation of AG APS Deol, who had put in his papers on November 1 amid repeated statements from Sidhu against him.
As a lawyer, Deol had represented former director general of police (DGP) Sumedh Singh Saini, who headed the state police at the time of the sacrilege incidents in 2015 and the subsequent police firing on protesters. Sidhu was opposed to Deol’s appointment for this reason and kept pressing for his replacement. Channi finally gave in and agreed to appoint a new AG.
In another tweet, Tewari said since @PunjabGovtIndia is going to appoint a new advocate general, they would be well advised to peruse rules of professional standards prescribed by @barcouncilindia. “An advocate is bound to accept any brief in the courts or tribunals or before any other authority in or before which he proposes to practise. He should levy fee which is at par with the fees collected by fellow advocates of his standing at the Bar and the nature of the case. Special circumstances may justify his refusal to accept a particular brief,” he tweeted.