 |
|
MAHARASHTRA
ELECTRICITY REGULATORY COMMISSION, MUMBAI
Maharashtra Electricity Regulatory Commission (Standing Legal Counsels: Terms and Conditions of Appointment) Regulations, 2004 |
||||||||||||||
|
ELECTRICITY
ACT, 2003
No. MERC/Legal/131/2004/2224 - In exercise of the powers conferred on it under Section 181(zp) of the Electricity Act, 2003, the Maharashtra Electricity Regulatory Commission hereby specifies the following Regulations relating to the terms and conditions of appointment of Standing Legal Counsel. Save as otherwise provided in these Regulations, these Regulations supersede the "Maharashtra Electricity Regulatory Commission (Standing Legal Counsels: Terms and Conditions of Appointment) Regulations, 2000" |
||||||||||||||
|
1
|
|
Short
title and Commencement
|
||||||||||||
|
(i)
|
These
Regulations may be called the Maharashtra Electricity Regulatory Commission
(Standing Legal Counsel: Terms and Conditions of Appointment) Regulations,
2004.
|
|||||||||||||
| (ii) |
These
Regulations shall come into force on the date of their publication in
the Official Gazette.
|
|||||||||||||
| (iii) |
These
Regulations shall apply to Standing Legal Counsel appointed under Regulation
3 of these Regulations.
|
|||||||||||||
|
2
|
|
Definitions
|
||||||||||||
|
(1)
|
In
these Regulations, unless the context otherwise requires:-
|
|||||||||||||
|
(i)
"Act" means the Electricity Act, 2003 (No.
36 of 2003);
|
||||||||||||||
|
(ii)
"Advocate" means an advocate entered in any roll
under the provisions of the Advocates Act,
1961;
|
||||||||||||||
|
(iii)
"Commission" means the Maharashtra Electricity
Regulatory Commission;
|
||||||||||||||
|
(iv)
"Standing Legal Counsel" means any Advocate appointed
by the Commission under Regulation
3 and who is not in the employment of the Commission.
|
||||||||||||||
|
(2)
|
Words
or expressions occurring in these Regulations and not defined herein but
defined in the Act shall have the meanings assigned in the Act.
|
|||||||||||||
|
3.
|
|
Appointment and Termination
|
||||||||||||
|
(1)
|
The Commission shall appoint:-
|
|||||||||||||
|
(i) An
Advocate with not less than 20 years standing at the bar as its Standing
Legal Counsel for matters
in the High Court and the Supreme Court.
|
||||||||||||||
|
(ii) An
advocate with not less than 15 years standing as its Standing Legal Counsel
for matters in
any criminal court.
|
||||||||||||||
|
(iii) An
Advocate with not less than 5 years standing at the bar as its Standing
Legal Counsel for matters
at any Tribunal, Forum or Court other than the Supreme Court or High Court.
|
||||||||||||||
|
Provided
that the Commission may engage any other Advocate, in any specific case
either before the Supreme Court, High Court or any other Court, Tribunal
or Forum depending on the nature and requirements of the case and the
specialization possessed by such Advocate in the subject relating to such
case.
Provided further that the Commission may also engage an Advocate for a specific task of consultation only. |
||||||||||||||
|
(2)
|
The
Commission may appoint more than one Standing Legal Counsel in any Court,
Tribunal or Forum.
|
|||||||||||||
|
(3)
|
The
number of Standing Legal Counsels to be appointed shall be determined
by the Commission depending upon the volume of work.
|
|||||||||||||
|
(4)
|
The
services of a Standing Legal Counsel shall be terminable on three months
notice in writing on either side.
|
|||||||||||||
|
4
|
|
Appointment
of a Senior Counsel
|
||||||||||||
|
The
Commission, may, if it so desires or on the advice of any Standing Legal
Counsel, engage a Senior Counsel for any case before the Supreme Court,
High Court, Tribunal or Forum at a fee to be determined in advance by
the Commission.
|
||||||||||||||
|
5.
|
|
Duties
|
||||||||||||
|
The
duties of a Standing Legal Counsel shall be as follows:-
|
||||||||||||||
|
(1)
|
To
tender advice and opinion to the Commission and its functional heads on
matters involving legal implications as may be referred to him by the
Commission.
|
|||||||||||||
|
(2)
|
To
prepare, settle and scrutinize agreements, contracts, deeds and other
documents of a legal and / or regulatory nature as may be referred to
him by the Commission or its functional heads.
|
|||||||||||||
|
(3)
|
To
prepare affidavits, counter affidavits, petitions, appeals, statement
of cases and all other connected documentation for legal proceedings on
behalf of the Commission.
|
|||||||||||||
|
(4)
|
To
appear before the Supreme Court, High Court or any other Court or Tribunal
or Forum on behalf of the Commission in all cases or classes of cases
assigned to him by the Commission, where the Commission is a party or
its interests are involved.
|
|||||||||||||
|
(5)
|
To
appear personally before the Supreme Court, High Court or any other Court
or Tribunal or Forum in cases entrusted to him by the Commission.
Provided that a Standing Legal Counsel may, in the event of unavoidable and unforeseen contingencies entrust a case or cases, with the prior consent of the Commission, to any other Advocate. |
|||||||||||||
|
(6)
|
To
perform such other work of a legal and / or regulatory nature as may be
entrusted to him by the Commission from time to time.
|
|||||||||||||
|
6.
|
|
Standing
Legal Counsel not to represent interests adverse to the Commission
|
||||||||||||
|
Standing Legal Counsel shall not appear against the Commission in any case
or represent or give opinion or advice to others in any matter which is
in conflict with or is adverse to the interests of the Commission. |
||||||||||||||
|
7.
|
|
Honorarium | ||||||||||||
| In
the event of the Commission finding it fit to appoint more than one Standing
Legal Counsel in any Court, Tribunal or Forum, it shall designate the most
senior of such Standing Legal Counsel as the Principal Standing Legal Counsel,
and such Principal Standing Legal Counsel shall further be entitled to be
paid an honorarium every month towards his duties, as set out in the Schedule
to these regulations. |
||||||||||||||
| Provided,
however, that the Commission may, for reasons to be recorded in writing,
approve a higher amount as honorarium than provided in this Schedule, taking
into consideration the nature of the case and the labour and time required
to be spent by the principal standing legal counsel if a particular case
so warrants. |
||||||||||||||
|
8.
|
|
Fees
|
||||||||||||
|
Standing
Legal Counsel shall be paid fees as prescribed by the Government of Maharashtra
for A-Panel Counsel in the High Court under the Maharashtra Law Officers
(Appointment, Conditions of Service, Remuneration) Rules, 1984 as amended
by the Government from time to time, and Senior Standing Legal Counsel
shall be entitled to the same in addition to the honorarium payable under
Regulation 7 of these regulations. |
||||||||||||||
|
9.
|
|
Payment
of higher or lower fees in certain cases
|
||||||||||||
|
The
Commission may order payment of fees higher or lower than those prescribed
if the nature of the case and the labour and time spent by the Standing
Legal Counsel if a particular case so warrants. |
||||||||||||||
|
10.
|
|
Payment
of Reasonable fees in cases pending when termination is effected
|
||||||||||||
|
In
case the engagement of a Standing Legal Counsel is terminated due to any
of the following reasons :- |
||||||||||||||
|
(1)
|
either
by reason of resignation;
|
|||||||||||||
|
(2)
|
by
reason of the Commission deciding not to pursue a case;
|
|||||||||||||
|
(3)
|
by
expiry of the term of the Standing Legal Counsel;
|
|||||||||||||
|
(4)
|
as
a result of the termination of the services of the Standing Legal Counsel
for any reason by the Commission,
|
|||||||||||||
|
the
Commission shall, in cases being handled by the Standing Legal Counsel
which are pending disposal at the time of the termination of service of
the counsel, have the discretion to fix such fees as it considers reasonable
having regard to the work done in the case or cases till the date of such
termination of service. |
||||||||||||||
|
11.
|
|
Saving
of inherent power of the Commission
|
||||||||||||
|
Nothing
in these Regulations shall bar the Commission from adopting a procedure
which is at variance with any of the provisions of these Regulations,
if the Commission, in view of the special circumstances of the matter
or class of matters and for reasons to be recorded in writing, deems it
necessary or expedient to depart from the procedure prescribed in the
Regulations. |
||||||||||||||
|
12.
|
|
General
power to amend
|
||||||||||||
|
The
Commission may at any time and on such terms as it may think fit amend
any provisions of these Regulations for the purpose of meeting the objectives
with which these Regulations have been framed. |
||||||||||||||
|
13.
|
|
Power
to remove difficulties
|
||||||||||||
|
If
any difficulty arises in giving effect to any of the provisions of these
Regulations the Commission may, by general or special order, do anything,
not being inconsistent with the provisions of the Act, which appears to
it to be necessary or expedient for the purpose of removing the difficulties. |
||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||
|
|