State govt’s legal adviser missing from Singur action

The prolonged absence of the advocate general of the West Bengal government, Anindya Gopal Mitra, has added a new dimension to the controversy over the legal advice reportedly given to the governor about the Singur Bill.

Last week, the bill was struck down by a division bench of the Calcutta High Court, which observed that the Singur Act should have got the consent of the President of India.

On Monday, Governor M K Narayanan said, "I thought I did not require the President's consent. That was the legal advice. But the high court thought otherwise. What can anyone do?"

Mitra has not attended office since June 15. He was also absent on the day the Singur verdict last Friday.

The office of the advocate general said Mitra was ill and his doctor had advised rest. The office failed to say when he would be able to attend court.

Mitra could not be contacted. The Indian Express was only informed that Mitra has been admitted to Belle Vue Clinic for the past two-three days.

The high court held that the Singur Land Development and Rehabilitation Act 2011 should have been introduced after obtaining assent from the President — not by the state governor — on the ground that the act falls under the purview of the concurrent list of the Constitution.

Advocates and senior counsels said that as the head of the government's legal wing, Advocate General Mitra could not have escaped responsibility for such a slip.

The fallout of the verdict, for all practical purposes, reflects adversely on the state's legal machinery at the high court.

Advocate Amjad Ali, who contested the Assembly poll last year as a Trinamool Congress candidate, said that Mitra should resign taking moral responsibility for the Singur setback. He said: "The post of the advocate general is a constitutional post and a governor of a state takes legal advice from the advocate general." The governor's remarks should be taken as a loss of confidence, said Ali.

... contd.

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