GOVERNMENT GIVES ADVOCATE GENERAL SUBODH KANTAK A DOSE ON PROFESSIONAL ETHICS.
In a virtual castigation as to his professional misconduct the Goa Government by a written order has directed Advocate General Subodh Kantak to refrain from accepting any case from private parties evenwhere the State Government is just a formal party and even if no relief is sought against the Government.
The order issued by the Under Secretary Law on behalf of the Governor of Goa states that the most important duty of the Advocate General is to maintain a high level of dignity and honour while keeping the position of Advocate General above board and free from any aspersionsor criticism.
The Government’s decision to issue these directives to Advocate General Subodh Kantak came after the Bombay High Court forwarded to the Chief Secretary of Goa in October last year a complaint filed by Adv. Aires Rodrigues against Advocate General Subodh Kantak accusing him of appearing before the High Court for a private contractor in acase where the State of Goa was also a party
Adv. Rodrigues had complained to the Chief Justice of the Bombay High Court that in Writ petition 365/2010 before the High Court filed byNMr. Govind Nagvenkar where the State of Goa was also a party, that Advocate General Mr. Subodh Kantak had appeared for one of the privateNcontractor Prime slots Events Private Ltd.
Interestingly it took the Goa Government almost a year to process this complaint against Advocate General Subodh Kantak. The file kept shuttling between the offices of Chief Minister, Chief Secretary, Law Secretary and Special Secretary Home inspite of Chief Minister Digambar Kamat’s clear directives to the administration that all files should be cleared within a week.
This is the second time Advocate General Mr Subodh Kantak has been censured by the Government. It may be recalled that after his infamous appearance in the Saleli case the Goa Government by an order issuedon 11th December 2008 had directed that Advocate General Subodh Kantakwould be entitled to only a single fee if two or more cases involving an identical question is heard together with a common argument and acommon judgment.
That order to the Advocate General was issued after Adv. Aires Rodrigues complained to the then Governor of Goa that Mr. Subodh Kantak had on 27th January 2006 appeared before the High Court in the batch of 102 Saleli bail applications and had raised a bill and was paid 102 times Rs 8000 i.e. Rs eight lakhs sixteen thousand though it was a common argument for the batch of bail applications and that Advocate General Mr. Subodh Kantak could have charged only a singlefee of Rs 8000/-.
Adv. Aires Rodrigues has today expressed anguish and concern that Advocate General Subodh Kantak had to be taught professional ethics bythe Government.
Stating that any other Advocate General having some self respect would have by now stepped down, Adv. Rodrigues has alleged that Mr. Subodh Kantak instead of upholding the dignity and decorum of the high constitutional post of Advocate General had by his gross misdeeds tarnished the image and sanctity of the Advocate General’s post.
