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Enescil, a Brazilian engineering firm requires Engineers, Architects and Draftsmen, proficient in AutoCAD, for their new office in Goa Those interested can email enescil....@gmail.com by 15 November 2011 Selected candidates will be sent to Brazil for 2 months training --------------------------------------------------------------------------- The Advocate General of a State is a very high Constitutional authority appointed under Article 165 of our constitution. The Governor of each State appoints a person who is qualified to be appointed as a Judge of a High Court to be the Advocate General of the State. The Advocate General has the right to speak and take part in the proceedings of the State Legislature but has no right to vote. He gives advice to the Government of the state on legal matters and holds office during the pleasure of the Governor. Several Advocate Generals in the country have been accused of wrong doings but none anywhere close to the level of misconduct Goa’s current Advocate General Mr. Subodh Kantak finds himself embroiled and entangled in. As India’s highest paid Advocate General the allegations against Subodh Kantak include the over billing in the Saleli case. As Advocate General Mr. Subodh Kantak had appeared in the High Court on 27th January 2006 in the Saleli case bail applications of 102 accused. Though it was a common argument leading to a common judgment for the batch of bail applications, Advocate General Subodh Kantak raised a bill and was paid 102 times Rs 8000 i.e. Rs eight lakhs sixteen thousand. On the other charges of professional misconduct against him less said the better. With two complaints pending against him, any Advocate General having some self-respect would have put in his papers. On August 6 1998 Orissa’s controversial Advocate General Indrajit Ray quit as the demand for his dismissal had been a major issue for all Opposition political parties in the state after having been charge sheeted by the Central Bureau of Investigation in a molestation case. In Nov 2004 the removal was sought of Kerala’s Advocate General, Ratna Singh, for his alleged links with the mafia. It was alleged that a lottery mafia, a sex mafia and a bail mafia were in operation at the Advocate General's office and there was a demand that there should be an independent inquiry into the activities of these mafia groups and the way they obstructed justice. On May 2005 Andhra Pradesh Advocate General D. Sudershan Reddy resigned after failing to appear before the High Court for a hearing. The then Chief Minister Y S Rajasekhara Reddy took serious note of the Advocate General’s absence. On 16th June 2009 citing personal reasons Uday Holla, Advocate General of Karnataka resigned. It was however alleged that Holla was forced to resign as in one case the government had appointed senior counsel VS Acharya without consulting the Advocate General. It was also alleged that K Diwakar, advisor to the chief minister and Holla differed on several issues, including ensuring reservation to the backward section of the Lingayat community which also forced him to tender his resignation. Gujarat Advocate General Kamal Trivedi had been accused of constitutional impropriety in giving an opinion to the state government to give 268 hectares of land in Bhavnagar district to Nirma Limited. The company was being represented by a legal firm in which Trivedi was a partner before his appointment as the Advocate General. The Advocate General’s wife is now a partner in the legal firm Trivedi & Gupta. Along side the controversial ones India has also seen some outstanding Advocate Generals too. We have had J M Thakore, Gujarat's advocate-general since 1960 being the nations’s longest serving Advocate General. He worked under 27 state governments and 13 chief ministers, intersperse with five spells of President's rule. Mr. Thakore had the unique and remarkable distinction of holding the post of Advocate-General of Gujarat from the day the state was formed till his death, period of over forty years. His fierce independence, dedication to the profession and unimpeachable conduct ensured that successive governments of widely differing political ideologies continued to allow him to hold the post of AG. The Punjab Advocate General H.S. Mattewal has the distinction of being conferred the prestigious National Law Day Award for his unique contribution in the field of constitutional law and unflinching support for the promotion and development of rights guaranteed under the Constitution of India. This award was given on the selection made by a distinguished jury headed by former Chief Justice of India P.N. Bhagwati. Mattewal who has the unique distinction of being the Advocate General of Punjab for the fourth time is a household name in that region, being known as friend in need of the highest of the high and the lowest of the low. Our Subodh Kantak by now is also a household name across Goa but for the wrong reasons. H.M. Seervai, India’s most outstanding lawyer, jurist and scholar in constitutional law died on 26th January 1996 at the age of 89. In his death an era in the legal world of India ended. For more than 50 years, Seervai was not only the country’s leading constitutional lawyer, but also a great scholar being the author of various works on Constitutional Law and is even today referred to as an authority in Courts. He was Advocate-General of Maharashtra for 17 years with great distinction. He achieved an exceptional stature and influence in public life by his inflexible integrity, strong courage and conviction. For 17 years as Advocate-General of Maharashtra (1957 to 1974) Seervai maintained the high stature of his office because he was not a political appointee and did not consider himself one. It was in marked contrast to the appointments of other Advocate Generals which are political appointees as they come and go with change in government. Governments came and went but Seervai was not called upon to resign with a new government. Seervai’s total disconnection from politicians and politics was his greatest strength. He dedicatedly defended Government in Court but declined to defend government policies which he felt were against his convictions. Seervai was quite unconcerned to financial rewards in the profession and had contempt for lawyers who prided themselves in having a lucrative practice. Lucrative, according to him meant greed for gain. Once asked if it would not be wrong to take high fees if clients were willing to pay them, Seervai retorted, “If a man was willing to be robbed would you be a thief?” A Retired Judge of Madras High Court N. V. Balasubramaniam had not long ago candidly stated ‘It is easier to become a judge of a high court than an Advocate-General as it is difficult to get that post unless one is a qualified and a very meritorious person,’ This may not be true in the context of the current Goa’s Advocate General. It is for the people of Goa to reflect on and cast their verdict. Aires Rodrigues T1 - B30, Ribandar Retreat Ribandar - Goa - 403006 Mobile: 9822684372 --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Protect Goa's natural beauty Support Goa's first Tiger Reserve Sign the petition at: http://www.goanet.org/petition/petition.php ---------------------------------------------------------------------------