Cuttack: Unhappy with the manner in which govt lawyers are defending arbitration cases in court, Justice S K Panigrahi of Orissa high court has directed the chief secretary to constitute, within a month, a panel of lawyers having proven competence, professional integrity and demonstrated expertise in arbitration law and practice.Justice Panigrahi gave the order on Aug 24 while hearing a petition filed by a private engineering firm in connection with a commercial dispute with the govt, warning that lack of professional competence and diligence by govt lawyers could result in avoidable losses to the public exchequer.The petitioner had sought vacation of a May 5 stay order passed by district judge-cum-commercial appellate court, Khurda, and release of Rs 1.5 crore deposited in the matter. It also sought early disposal of the appeal.In the order, a web copy of which was available on Thursday, Justice Panigrahi observed that arbitration proceedings, particularly those before MSME courts and arbitration tribunals, were in several cases “not being conducted with the requisite degree of professional competence, diligence and preparedness”.The court said disputes involving substantial financial claims against the state required effective representation, as “any lapse in the conduct of the case may result in avoidable financial loss to the public exchequer”.The judge ordered that the credentials, experience, expertise, track record and past performance of lawyers proposed for empanelment be carefully scrutinised. Details of the panel are to be placed before the high court for its perusal.Justice Panigrahi also directed the govt to identify officers whose negligence, dereliction of duty, lack of due diligence or possible collusion may have contributed to repeated failures in arbitration cases.
