State names 5 senior advocates to legal panel, AG’s post vacant

Kolkata: The state govt on Monday appointed five senior advocates to key positions in its legal panel, though the post of advocate general is yet to be filled.Rajdeep Mazumder was appointed additional advocate general, Nilanjan Bhattacharjee as senior standing counsel, Dibyendra Narayan Ray as govt pleader, Nand Gopal Khaitan as advocate-on-record on the Original Side, and Kallol Mondal as public prosecutor.Mazumder had been appearing before the Calcutta High Court as deputy solicitor general. He also represented the CBI in the RG Kar rape and murder case."It's a great honour for me to be appointed as the AOR for the Govt of West Bengal. Will be able to contribute and be a part of the growth journey of my state," Khaitan said.The post of advocate general is a constitutional office, with the appointment made by the governor under Article 165 of the Constitution on the advice of the state council of ministers.Former advocate general Kishore Datta resigned after the assembly poll results were declared on May 4. Following his resignation, lawyers on the state panel also stepped down. Since May 5, the state has had no legal panel in place. The Calcutta High Court was informed of the situation and requested to take up matters involving the state only after the new panel was constituted.Lawyers at the high court said a change in the state's legal panel after a change in govt was not unusual."Whenever there's a govt change, the state panel which will be representing the Govt of West Bengal in the high court also alters. It depends on the state whether they want to retain counsel, but usually they prefer a fresh panel," lawyers said.