Haryana Shocker! Hooda Govt paid Rs 5.5 cr to senior counsel for a single case

Gurgaon, Feb 25: The previous Bhupinder Singh Hooda government in Haryana is once again in news after TV reports claimed that the Congress government paid a whopping Rs 5.5 crore to a lawyer to prosecute workers accused of violence at Maruti's plant in Manesar.

Hiring senior lawyers to fight high-profile cases is a common practice in State and Central governments, but remuneration of such an amount was unheard.

As per a report published by NDTV, an RTI application accessed by the private news channel has revealed that senior counsel and now Congress MP from Rajya Sabha KTS Tulsi was appointed as a Special Public Prosecutor (SPP) by the Hooda government in the Maruti case. Tulsi charged Rs. 11 lakh for a single appearance in the Gurgaon Additional District and Sessions Court.

The RTI reply also details other fees, including that of Mr Tulsi's three assistants - Rs. 66,000 for each appearance - and "clerkage" of over Rs. 1 lakh for his expenses - a total of over Rs. 5 crore in just two years, the report further added.

A senior Maruti official was killed and 100 injured in violence at the plant in July 2012. The police arrested over 100 workers following the incident.

Haryana Industry Minister Randeep Singh Surjewala had then assured that his government would punish the perpatrators of the crime.

After forming Special Investigation Team (SIT) started probing the incident, the state government appointed criminal lawyer KTS Tulsi as the special prosecutor for the trial. Maruti Suzuki has demanded that the inquiry be expedited.

When the media persons asked KTS Tulsi over this he refused to divulge any details.

Meanwhile, the BJP, which is now in power in the state, has expressed shock over the same and said it will probe the matter.

OneIndia News