Chapter IV CONDUCT OF CASES

Wherever issues are framed in a case the Law Officer shall verify whether all necessary and proper issues required to be framed in the case have been framed or not. If, the issues framed are defective in any manner, or if proper issues have not been framed he shall file necessary application for amendment, deletion or for framing of additional issues.

Assistance through the trial

1. (1) The Litigation Conducting Officer shall regularly watch the progress of the case and provide the Law Officer concerned with all necessary documents, files, evidence and assistance so as to facilitate effective conduct of the case. He shall personally attend the Court and assist the Law Officer in the trial of the case. If for any valid reason however he is unable to attend personally, he may on his own responsibility with the permission of his official superior depute a responsible officer who is thoroughly conversant with the facts of the case and who is capable of giving adequate and necessary instructions to the Law Officer for effectively prosecuting the case.
2. (2) Every Officer of the department concerned whose presence is required by the Law Officer has a duty to go before the Law Officer and furnish information called for by him. The Law Officer shall not hold the departmental officers for any more time than what is reasonably required. By mutual arrangement they may meet at any commonplace including the official chambers of the officer. The Law Officer shall prepare himself for the trial of the case well in advance and shall not seek adjournment of the case without proper excuse.
3. (3) The Departmental Secretary and the Head of the Department shall ensure that the Litigation Conducting Officers discharge their functions effectively and diligently and in the best interest of the Government. Either or both of them may issue such instructions as each of them may consider necessary, including the steps to be taken in the event of change of the Litigation Conducting Officer.

Production and Custody of Documents The following steps shall be taken to make available the documents for purposes of the trial, namely,-

1. (a) All available documentary evidence shall be diligently collected carefully examined and produced before the Court on or before the day fixed for its reception;
2. (b) Making application for adjournment for production of document shall as for as possible be avoided and such application on behalf of the opposite party shall, unless they are made for sufficient reasons, be resisted as they tend to prolong the litigation and give opportunities for fabrication of false evidence;
3. (c) When a suit is instituted upon a document, the document sued upon shall be produced in Court along with the plaint as required under Order 7, Rule 14 of the Code of Civil Procedure 1908;
4. (d) The Law Officer shall take steps to get important and valuable documents kept in safe custody in Court. The Officers handing over important documents to the Law Officer, either for production in Court or for reference, shall take proper acknowledgement there-for from the Law Officer. Whenever documents are produced in Court, they shall be produced along with a list obtaining due acknowledgment from the Court;
5. (e) Wherever certified copies or extracts or photo copies of documents are admissible, production of the originals shall be avoided;
6. (f) Whenever production of a particular document in a file is necessary, only such document shall be produced in Court and the production of the entire file of the department should be avoided;
7. (g) Whenever production of a document in original is found necessary, an authenticated copy (preferably a photo copy) of such document shall be retained in the department file along with a note to the effect that the original has been filed in Court mentioning the case number, year, and the date of production;
8. (h) Documents filed by the opponents shall be carefully examined and compared with the originals wherever possible at the earliest opportunity and efforts made to find out the genuineness or authenticity of the documents so produced; and
   • (i) Objections relating to admissibility, genuineness or such other grounds shall be taken at the earliest. The Law Officer shall obtain certified copies of all documents produced by the opponents and secure them in the file. The production of the documents in the possession of the Government or its Officers when lawfully required by the Court shall not be resisted except for valid and sufficient reasons;

1. (1) The Law Officer shall, in consultation with the Litigation Conducting Officer and other officers concerned with the case, prepare a list of witnesses whose evidence, in his opinion, is necessary to substantiate the case of the Government. The witness list shall be filed in the Court well within the time fixed by the Court for the purpose.
2. (2) The Litigation Conducting Officer shall secure the witnesses for examination before the Court by obtaining process of the Court wherever necessary. If evidence of an Officer in service is necessary, the Law Officer and the Litigation Conducting Officer shall request, in writing, the Officer to attend the Court and a copy of that letter shall be sent to the official superior of such Officer with a request to permit the officer to attend the Court.

Examination on commission

1. (1) The Law Officer, in consultation with the Litigation Conducting Officer, shall take steps for issue of commission for local inspection or for examination of witnesses, wherever it is necessary.
2. (2) As the case progresses the Law Secretary shall ensure that all necessary witnesses are examined.
3. (3) Expenses in this regard shall be borne out of the contingencies of the department concerned as provided in Article 240(b) of the Karnataka Financial Code.

1. (1) The Law Officer shall exercise due discretion in safeguarding the interest of the Government in the best manner. Wherever there is a difference of opinion between the Law Officer and the Litigation Conducting Officer with regard to the proper course of action in conducting the case, the Law Officer shall make a reference to the Law Secretary and take action according to his instructions.
2. (2) The Law Officer shall not concede any claim or part thereof against the Government or enter into any compromise in any proceedings before any Court without the written authority of a responsible officer in the Law Department or the Director of Prosecutions and Government Litigation, as the case may be. No such authority shall be given without consulting the Departmental Secretary concerned.
   • (a) He shall firmly oppose any proposal for compromise that is prejudicial to the interest of the Government; and
   • (b) He shall obtain and maintain copies of all interim and final orders passed by the Court, get copies thereof made with the assistance of the Litigation Conducting Officer and send a copy thereof to the Law Department.

1. (1) The Law Officer shall apply for certified copies of the judgment and decree or order immediately after pronouncement, without any loss of time. In cases, where the decision has gone against the Government, he shall examine whether there are valid grounds to take the matter in appeal, revision or review and forward his report along with the certified copy of the judgment and decree or order, copies of documents produced in the case and the depositions of witnesses examined on both sides, to the Law Secretary within three days of the receipt of the certified copies.
2. (2) Whenever certified copies of the judgment and decree in a First Appeal are forwarded as required by sub-section (1) above the Law Officer shall also obtain and forward certified copies of the judgment and decree of the Trial Court.

Appeallable cases

1. (1) On receipt of the certificate copy of the judgment and decree or order along with the opinion of the Law Officer, the Law Department shall consider and decide on taking the matter further in appeal, revision or review. Appeal or other appropriate proceeding shall invariably be filed in all cases where the judgment has the effect of affecting the title of the Government to any immovable property.
2. (2) If it is decided to so agitate the matter in appeal, necessary orders authorizing filing of the appeal, review or revision shall be issued immediately and a copy of the order shall be sent to the concerned Law Officer and the Litigation Conducting Officer along with a note indicating the grounds available for appeal etc., and supporting case law. Copies of the communication shall also be sent to the Head of the Department and the Departmental Secretary.
3. (3) The procedure indicated in this sub-section shall mutatis mutandis apply to preferring second appeals.
4. (4) If the Officer of the Legal Cell concerned decides that the matter need not be pursued in appeal review or revision against the orders of the Karnataka Administrative Tribunal or Central Administrative Tribunal or against any decision of the High Court, the Legal Cell shall refer the matter to the Law Secretary for taking the final decision. All monies required by the Litigation Conducting Officer towards expenses for the purposes specified in these rules shall be incurred as provided in Article 240(b) of the Karnataka Financial Code.