U.S. report slams Akhilesh govt. for U.P. clashes

July 30, 2014

Lucknow, Jul 30: A United States report stating that Uttar Pradesh saw the highest number of deaths in communal violence in India last year has raised the political temperature in the state, with opposition political parties charging the ruling Samajwadi Party government with complete failure of law and order in the State.

The Akhilesh Yadav government has also been accused of sullying the image of India’s most populous state across the globe which may have severe impact on its investment environment and tourism industry.

Stating that last year’s Muzaffarnagar riots led to 65 deaths while an estimated 40,000-50,000 people were displaced, the US State Department’s “International Religious Freedom Report” for 2013 has said that “Uttar Pradesh…experienced the highest number of deaths in communal unrest for the second consecutive year…”

Opposition parties have said that it reflected complete failure on the part of the Chief Minister to run the state. Criticizing Mr. Yadav for the “dubious distinction”, BJP’s state unit spokesperson Vijay Bahadur Pathak said frequent communal riots in UP have now become headlines in the international forum. “The entire country is suffering due to lapses of the UP government as the country has earned a bad name in the international arena and tourists have stopped coming here,” he noted.

The Congress too has said the state government has consistently failed to take lessons from its failures and was trying to cover up its laxity in governance. Riots in Muzaffarnagar and now in Saharanpur have proven time and again that the government’s incompetence to rule had led to escalation of small issues into big riots, said UP Congress spokesperson Amarnath Agarwal. “The law and order situation has deteriorated day by day and the US reports would certainly have an adverse impact on tourism,” he added.

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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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