SHILLONG, OCT 7: The lawyers’ stir against Advocate General Amit Kumar has now turned into a fight over transparency, with the High Court Bar Association alleging the state government is deliberately suppressing details of public money spent on the AG’s office.
Secretary General Kishore Gautam said an RTI application seeking expenditure details was rejected on the 30th day citing Section 8.
“We had filed an RTI to know how much public funds are being spent for the office of the Advocate General and the outstation lawyers. On the 30th day, they replied saying they cannot give the information under Section 8, which is absolutely not legally tenable,” Gautam said.
“We have filed an appeal. It is clear the government is trying to shield information. It does not want the amount spent on the AG and his office to come out in public, because then people will understand why we are agitating,” he said.
Gautam said the figure runs into crores, far higher than under previous AGs.
“A lot of money, crores and crores, is being spent for running the office of an Advocate General who comes from Delhi. Compare it with earlier Advocate Generals and you will see a very big difference,” he said.
“For a small state like ours, we need not spend so much for the AG and outstation lawyers who come from outside and stay in five-star hotels,” Gautam added.
He said the Bar will not stop at the first appeal.
“That information has been denied to us. We have filed an appeal which I think will also be denied, but we will keep pursuing. They cannot invoke Section 8 when public funds are involved,” he said.
On Kumar’s designation as senior advocate, Gautam said, “He was not a designated senior when he came here. He was designated from here. We had called a general body meeting then and wanted to challenge his designation, but could not do so.”
“Now one person is holding everything at ransom. We are forced to boycott courts because of one person. The public is suffering, the legal fraternity is suffering and the government is silent. This shows the state of affairs,” he said.
