Constitution of Panel of Senior/Junior Standing Counsels for handling Indirect Taxation cases before High Courts
The CBEC has appointed a panel of Senior/Junior Standing Counsels for handling the cases of Indirect Taxation before various High Courts. The Law Ministry already has Assistant Solicitors General for defending the Union of India in all the High Courts. Apparently the Board feels that the Department needs better representation before the High Courts. DDT notices that at least in six cases, the present ASGs are appointed as Senior Standing Counsels. Board has instructed that appeals/petitions filed by the Department/parties on or after 15.10.2008 shall be handled by the Departmental Standing Counsels only. So till 15 th October, they will appear as the Asst Solicitors General and thereafter as Senior Standing Counsels! These Counsels will be allotted work by the Chief Commissioners.
Hitherto there used to be one ASG for the entire Central Government – now there are half a dozen counsels for the CBEC alone in each High Court. To keep all these counsels busy, the Department will have a full time wing to go to the High Courts for all frivolous cases. All the lawyers in the Tribunal - migrate to the High Courts, for that is where the action is going to be now.
For prosecution cases reaching the High Courts, the Board has issued some strange instructions – “the Chief Commissioner may assign the case to the Special Public Prosecutors appointed by the Department who have handled the case before the Lower Courts as Standing Counsels.”
This shows a poor understanding of the ground realities – A Public Prosecutor who appeared for the Department in the trial court may not be practicing in the High Court at all. There is a vast difference between advocacy in the High Court and the lower courts. [of course it cannot be inferred by any chance that one is greater than the other – only they are two different games altogether]
Further, facts (evidence) play a major role in the lower courts, while LAW is the dominant factor in the High Court. So the PP who successfully appeared for the Government in the lower court may be a thorough failure in the High Court. The converse is also true.
So it is suicidal for the Revenue to depend on the lower court PP to defend it in the High Court.
CBEC's F.No. 278 A/43/2007-Legal Dated: 8th September, 2008