Section 12 in Karnataka Conduct of Government Litigation Rules, 1985
12. Writ Petitions against the Government.
(1)In writ petitions instituted against the state or any of its officers in their official capacity, normally the State is shown as represented by the Chief Secretary or the Secretary of the concerned Department or the Deputy Commissioner of the district or some officer of the department to which the impugned action relates. If the Chief Secretary is shown as representing the State or is made a party, the court notice addressed to him shall be received by [the Head of the Legal Cell of the Department of Personnel and Administrative Reforms] [Substituted by notification No. LAW 266 LAM 96, Dated: 1.1.1998] and sent to the concerned Secretary. In other cases, the notice be received by the officer named in the petition. Where the notice has been served on any subordinate officer, he shall immediately forward such notice along with five sets of the copies of the writ petition and the Annexures thereto to the concerned Administrative Secretariat. Where such notice is served on the concerned Secretary or is received by him from 1[the Head of the Legal Cell of the Department of Personnel and Administrative Reforms]1 or where it is sent by the subordinate officer to the concerned Administrative Secretariat the concerned Secretary shall there upon immediately forward the same along with five copies of the writ petition and its enclosures to [the Legal Cell] [Substituted by notification No. LAW 266 LAM 96, Dated: 1.1.1998] indicating the name of an officer,-(i)who is Conversant with the facts of the case; and(ii)who shall be the litigation conducting officer for the case; and(iii)who shall verify and sign the pleadings.(2)Whenever the High Court directs a Law Officer to take notice of any writ petition, the Law Officer concerned shall obtain copies of the writ petition and its enclosures meant for the Respondents and the Government from the High Court and immediately forward copy of the writ petition along with its enclosures and a covering letter to [the Legal Cell] [Substituted by notification No. LAW 266 LAM 96, Dated: 1.1.1998] and a copy of the covering letter to the concerned Administrative Secretariat.(3)On receipt of the copies of the writ petition and its enclosures under sub-rule (1) or sub-rule (2) [the Legal Cell] [Substituted by notification No. LAW 266 LAM 96, Dated: 1.1.1998] shall consider whether any relief is claimed against the Government and whether it is necessary to put in appearance on behalf of the Government. If it is considered necessary to oppose the writ petition, necessary order shall be issued authorising a Law Officer to appear and defend the State and its Officers, if any, and also to oppose grant of any interim order adverse to the interest of the State, and if any such order has already been granted, to move for vacation of such order by filing necessary application before the court. The order shall also specify the name of the Litigation Conducting Officer who shall be contacted by the Law Officer and [the Legal Cell] [Substituted by notification No. LAW 266 LAM 96, Dated: 1.1.1998] whenever necessary and the name of the officer who shall verify and sign the pleadings. Copy of the order shall be sent to the Law Officer concerned along with the copy of the writ petition and its enclosures and the notices received from the court, the Administrative Secretariat concerned, the field department and the officers who are parties to the writ petition.(4)Where any interim relief has been granted against the interest of the State by the Court, and the Administrative Department desires that such order should be got vacated immediately, then, it shall intimate [the Legal Cell] [Substituted by notification No. LAW 266 LAM 96, Dated: 1.1.1998] about the same while sending copies of the writ petition and enclosures. In such case and in cases where the High Court has directed the Law Officer to take notice of the writ petition or any application for interim order or both, the Administrative Department shall ensure that necessary para-wise remarks and a brief note on the history of the case and other relevant materials, are forwarded to the Law Officer at the earliest for taking necessary steps in the matter.(5)On receipt of the copies of the Government order authorising a Law Officer to appear for the State and the officers, if any, the Administrative Secretariat shall ensure that the Department, the Officer on whose behalf the authorisation has been issued and other officers who are in possession of the records and other relevant material relating to the case, immediately forward, para-wise remarks on the allegations made in the writ petition, a note on the history of the case and a brief to the concerned Law Officer along with the relevant files, records, the rules, notifications, orders, circulars and the like in force at the relevant time and relating to the matter for preparing the statement of objections and other necessary pleadings. Copy of the para-wise remarks, the note on the history of the case and the brief shall also be sent to [the Legal Cell] [Substituted by notification No. LAW 266 LAM 96, Dated: 1.1.1998] for information and further action. The Litigation conducting Officer shall with the assistance of such officers as he may deem necessary give instructions and assist the Law Officer and [the Legal Cell] [Substituted by notification No. LAW 266 LAM 96, Dated: 1.1.1998] in the preparation of the draft counter and in finalising it.(6)On receipt of the para-wise remarks, the brief and the connected records, the Law Officer concerned shall prepare at the earliest, a draft counter and other necessary pleadings in the case and shall send it along with the relevant records, files, rules, notifications, orders circulars and the like to [the Legal Cell] [Substituted by notification No. LAW 266 LAM 96, Dated: 1.1.1998] for scrutiny and approval of the draft. On receipt of the same, [the Legal Cell] [Substituted by notification No. LAW 266 LAM 96, Dated: 1.1.1998] shall send it to the concerned Administrative Secretariat at the earliest for verification and return. The Administrative Secretariat on receipt of the same shall get the same examined, the facts verified either by itself or through the concerned officers at the earliest and thereafter shall send the same to [the Legal Cell] [Substituted by notification No. LAW 266 LAM 96, Dated: 1.1.1998] certifying that the same has been examined and verified and found correct and also indicate the name of the officer who shall swear to the affidavit.(7)On receipt of the pleadings and other materials referred to above, [the Legal Cell] [Substituted by notification No. LAW 266 LAM 96, Dated: 1.1.1998] shall examine the case in detail, scrutinise the draft and approve it effecting such modifications or corrections as it may consider necessary. The scrutiny of the counter should not be treated as a routine matter by [the Legal Cell] [Substituted by notification No. LAW 266 LAM 96, Dated: 1.1.1998]. Even though the administrative department is primarily responsible for supply of the facts and the Law Officer for drafting of the counter, [the Legal Cell] [Substituted by notification No. LAW 266 LAM 96, Dated: 1.1.1998] shall ensure that no admission which is not warranted by the records is made. In addition, it should be ensured by [the Legal Cell] [Substituted by notification No. LAW 266 LAM 96, Dated: 1.1.1998] that all possible defence which are open to the Government have been properly and adequately raised in the counter. If there are any court decisions on the subject and applicable to the facts and which are likely to prove useful to the Government, they shall be fully indicated in the counter. A separate brief shall be prepared and sent to the Law Officer indicating the line of defence documents to be produced and the court decisions in support of the defence. Such further information, documents and records as may be necessary may be called for by the Law Officer and [the Legal Cell] [Substituted by notification No. LAW 266 LAM 96, Dated: 1.1.1998] from the administrative departments. It shall be the duty of the concerned Administrative Secretariat and the department to furnish all materials required by the Law Officer and [the Legal Cell] [Substituted by notification No. LAW 266 LAM 96, Dated: 1.1.1998]. Thereafter, the finalised counter shall be handed over to the Litigation Conducting Officer who shall get it signed and verified by the officer authorised to sign and verify the pleadings and thereafter give it to the Law Officer for filing into Court well within time.(8)The provisions of rule 6 shall mutatis mutandis apply for the conduct of writ petition before the High Court.(9)The provision of rules 8 to 10 shall mutatis mutandis apply for filing of appeals against the orders in writ petition and the conduct thereof.
