RailEnquiry

The Orissa High Court has quashed a notification of East Coast Railway claims tribunal seeking application from lawyers to be empanelled as standing counsel to defend the cases of Railways.

The notification had been challenged at the High Court by Odisha Tax Bar Association as the Tribunal in the February 14, 2010 advertisement sought applications from lawyers who have at least 10 years of practice and should be members of Bhubaneswar bar.

The notification was sheer discrimination on the part of Railways to favour lawyers of a particular bar, the association petitioned and sought its quashing.

During admission of the writ, the High Court had imposed an interim stay on the empanelment process in 2010 itself.

Delivering the final judgement yesterday, a division bench of Chief Justice V Gopala Gowda and Justice B K Mishra quashed the February 2010 notification of the Tribunal and asked the petitioner to represent the general manager of East Coast Railways seeking redressal of their grievances.

Keywords: Orissa High Court, railway tribunal notification, em