No legal advice without my approval, orders Sisodia

Sisodia, who is also Delhi’s law minister, said that in cases of urgency, his approval can be sought through email, phone or WhatsApp.

Deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia has directed the law department to place before him all files and instructions received from L-G Anil Baijal or his office.

Sisodia, who is also Delhi’s law minister, said that in cases of urgency, his approval can be sought through email, phone or WhatsApp. (Burhaan Kinu/HT PHOTO)

In his order, Sisodia said that no instructions, verbal or written, will be issued by officials of the department without his approval.

“No legal advice shall be given by the law department without the approval of the law minister,” he said.

Sisodia, who is also Delhi’s law minister, said that in cases of urgency, his approval can be sought through email, phone or WhatsApp.

The order comes four days after heated exchanges between the Delhi government’s senior standing counsel Rahul Mehra and additional standing counsel Naushad Ahmed Khan inside a courtroom of the Delhi High Court with both claiming to be the authorised representatives of the AAP government.

Khan had claimed to represent the services department, which comes under the Lieutenant Governor. Mehra, appointed by the AAP government, had said he had allocated the matter to another lawyer.

“If the department is desirous of engaging a counsel other than the one to whom the matter ordinarily stands marked by the standing counsel, no BTF (Brief Transmission Form) shall be issued by any officer in the law department without the approval of the law minister,” the deputy CM said in his order.