Yes, we made mistakes: Kejriwal after Delhi loss

April 29, 2017

New Delhi, Apr 29: Grappling with a crushing defeat in the civic polls, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal today admitted that his Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) made "mistakes" and that there was a need to "introspect" and "course correct". Till now the AAP leader had been blaming Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) for the party's rout in polls.

Kejriwal said that based on his interactions with "volunteers and voters", it was obvious that the party made mistakes and there was a need to go back to the "drawing board". "Need is action and not excuses," he said, amid growing clamour in the party to desist from raking up the issue of EVMs being "tampered with" to favour the BJP, an allegation rubbished by the Election Commission.

The remarks are part of a brief written statement, shared by the AAP chief on Twitter, three days after the party was defeated by the BJP in the Delhi municipal polls. "In the last two days, I spoke to many volunteers and voters. The reality is obvious. Yes, we made mistakes but we will introspect and course correct. Time to go back to drawing board," he said. He said it would be "silly" for the party to not evolve.

AAP was formed in late 2012, after the India Against Corruption movement led by Kejriwal and veteran activist Anna Hazare. The party stormed to power in Delhi with an overwhelming majority of 67 seats in the 70-member Delhi Assembly in 2015, gaining prominence in the national stage.

Since then, it has focused on expanding its base beyond the national capital, but its foray in Punjab and Goa failed, and the party has also lost its grip over the national capital in the recent past. In Punjab, the party did emerge as the primary opposition but the performance did not live up to the hype.

In Delhi, the party first lost the Rajouri Garden assembly bypoll and within days, received a drubbing in the civic elections, where the BJP retained control of all the three corporations. "It's time to get back to work. And even if we slip from time to time, the key is to find the reserves to hold and pull ourselves up. People deserve nothing less. The only thing constant is change," 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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