Jat stir: Situation tense in Haryana, Army stages flag marches

February 21, 2016

Chandigarh, Feb 21: Incidents of violence and arson continued overnight in Haryana with Jat protesters setting on fire an ATM and records of a cooperative bank in Bhiwani district even as the Army staged flag marches in tense areas.

Despite various leaders including Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar appealing to the Jats to maintain peace, there was no let up in the protests which have disrupted normal life in Rohtak, Jind, Bhiwani, Jhajjar, Sonipat and Hisar.

Protesters had last night set on fire an ATM of a bank and burnt official records of a cooperative bank in Loharu in Bhiwani district.

As violence and arson spread to several parts of Haryana state, the Haryana government sought additional companies of Central Reserve Police Force and more columns of Army to be deployed in the state to control the agitation.

As many as 15 companies of India Reserve Battalion and Haryana Armed Police, three companies of paramilitary forces and two columns of Army have already been deployed.
So far six persons have been killed in the firing by security personnel "to quell arson and firing" by the protesters while 154 FIRs have been registered.

Curfew remained in force in Rohtak, Bhiwani, Jhajjar, Jind, Hisar, Hansi, Sonipat and Gohana towns of Sonipat district.

Road and rail traffic through Haryana and destined for neighboring states, including Delhi, Punjab, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Rajasthan and Chandigarh remained disrupted with authorities cancelling bus and train services on most routes in the wake of the blockades.

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‘Pay the worker before his sweat dries’: Madras High Court cites Prophet Muhammad’s teaching while ordering settlement of dues

News Network

December 21,2025

Invoking the teachings of Prophet Muhammad—“pay the worker before his sweat dries”—the Madras High Court has directed a municipal corporation to settle long-pending legal dues owed to a former counsel. The court observed that this principle reflects basic fairness and applies equally to labour and service-related disputes.

Justice G. R. Swaminathan made the observation while hearing a petition filed by advocate P. Thirumalai, who claimed that the Madurai City Municipal Corporation failed to pay him legal fees amounting to ₹13.05 lakh. Earlier, the High Court had asked the corporation to consider his representation. However, a later order rejected a major portion of his claim, prompting the present petition.

The court allowed Thirumalai to approach the District Legal Services Authority (DLSA) and submit a list of cases in which he had appeared. It also directed the corporation to settle the verified fee bills within two months, without interest. The court noted that the petitioner had waited nearly 18 years before challenging the non-payment and that the corporation could not be fully blamed, as the fee bills were not submitted properly.

‘A Matter of Embarrassment’

Justice Swaminathan described it as a “matter of embarrassment” that the State has nearly a dozen Additional Advocate Generals. He observed that appointing too many law officers often leads to unnecessary allocation of work and frequent adjournments, as government counsel claim that senior officers are engaged elsewhere.

He expressed hope that such practices would end at least in the Madurai Bench of the High Court and added that Additional Advocate Generals should “turn a new leaf” from 2026 onwards.

‘Scandalously High Amounts’

While stating that the court cannot examine the exact fees paid to senior counsel or law officers, Justice Swaminathan stressed that good governance requires public funds to be used prudently. He expressed concern over the “scandalously high amounts” paid by government and quasi-government bodies to a few favoured law officers.

In contrast, the court noted that Thirumalai’s total claim was “a pittance” considering the large number of cases he had handled.

Background

Thirumalai served as the standing counsel for the Madurai City Municipal Corporation for more than 14 years, from 1992 to 2006. During this period, he represented the corporation in about 818 cases before the Madurai District Courts.

As the former counsel was unable to hire a clerk to obtain certified copies of judgments in all 818 cases, the court directed the District Legal Services Authority to collect the certified copies within two months. The court further ordered the corporation to bear the cost incurred by the DLSA and deduct that amount from the final settlement payable to the petitioner.

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