Chandigarh, June 6
Ending months of speculation, the Punjab Government today decided to remove Mr Harbhagwan Singh from his post of Advocate-General (AG), Punjab.
Sources in the government said that Senior Advocate and noted criminal lawyer R.S. Cheema had been chosen to replace Mr Harbhagwan Singh.
His removal is being linked to two things: one, his son’s appointment as Senior Additional Advocate-General, Haryana, and his refusal to vet the Ludhiana Improvement Trust’s decision to allot the much-touted Rs 350-crore Ludhiana City Centre project to a Delhi-based company. Sometime back, the AG had refused to defend the Trust’s decision in the Punjab and Haryana High Court.
Pressure had been building on Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh ever since Mr Arun Walia, the AG’s son, was appointed Senior Additional Advocate-General, Haryana by the Bhupinder Singh Hooda-led Congress government.
The Governments of Punjab and Haryana have been fighting legal battles with each other over a number of issues, most prominent among them being the SYL Canal.
The thought of its AG’s son being one of the top law officers in the Haryana AG office was disturbing the Punjab Government.
What also went against Mr Harbhagwan was the recent order of the Rajasthan High Court, directing Punjab to hand over the control of Bhakra Nangal and Beas projects to the Bhakra Beas Management Board (BBMB) for regulating the supply of water to the states of Haryana, Punjab and Rajasthan. The Supreme Court later stayed the order.
While Mr
Harbhagwan as also Mr Cheema refused to confirm the development, highly placed sources in the
government said that the CM has already asked him to resign. The Home Secretary was asked to seek his resignation at the earliest.
As for the outgoing AG’s replacement, Mr Cheema has been practising in the Punjab and Haryana High Court since 1978. He was designated a Senior Advocate in 1991.
He has represented several important personalities, including Punjab Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh and Himachal Pradesh CM Virbhadra Singh in courts.
He is also defending the Haryana Chief Minister, Mr Bhupinder Singh Hooda, in a dowry case going on in a trial court.
