Govt was wrong in summoning AG: Experts

KOCHI: The decision to ask the Advocate General to appear before the special cabinet shows disrespect to Constitution, say legal experts.In the wake of the ongoing controversy, legal experts have come out against the government stating that Advocate General K P Dandapani should not have been asked to appear before the cabinet. However, they say Dandapani should have quit once the government expressed displeasure over his statement.The Advocate General, who is the first legal officer in the state, could only be requested to be present before the cabinet or the Assembly for seeking any direction or legal advice, former Advocate General C P Sudhakara Prasad said. “It was not welcome on the part of the government to have asked the AG for an explanation after he appeared for a case. The AG is the leader of the bar. He can be called to the cabinet only if the government needs any legal advice. The government should not have called him for making a clarification,” he said.Stating that Dandapani had already clarified his stand before the Chief Minister, Prasad said that there was no need for the AG to clarify it before the cabinet. He also noted that it was better for Dandapani to submit his resignation as there was displeasure from many quarters. “The government is the client and when a client has expressed displeasure, then there is no point in the advocate continuing with the client,” he said.“An AG is only requested to attend before the cabinet meeting for seeking any clarification on any matter or on any legal issue,” former Additional Advocate General Ranjith Thampan said. Had he been called by the government for an explanation for the remarks made in the court, Ranjith said, he would not have continued in the post.Former BJP state president P S Sreedharan Pillai, who is also a practicing advocate, expressed the same opinion. “The AG, who is the legal adviser to the government, should not have been asked to clarify on what he had said in the court,” he said. He was also of the opinion that it was not good on the part of Dandapani to have continued in his post if the government had any displeasure.There were widespread demands for the ouster of Dandapani after he reportedly stated before the HC that the water level in the Mullaperiyar dam was not related to the safety of the dam.