Advocate General Maninderjit Singh Bedi has taken charge as the new Advocate General of Punjab. Gurminder Singh Gary had resigned from his post due to which this post was vacant. Bedi will be the fourth AG during the tenure of the AAP government. Along with this, the Punjab government has also given extension to 215 law officers.
Punjab Advocate General (AG) Gurminder Singh Gary has resigned from his post. He submitted his resignation to Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, expressing his desire to return to his private practice. The government has appointed senior advocate Maninderjit Singh Bedi as the new Advocate General in his place.
Bedi has also assumed his post in the evening itself. Along with this, the government has also given extension to 215 law officers. Their contract was ending on March 31. The government has also appointed Anu Chaitrath as Senior Additional AG.
Gurminder Singh thanked CM Mann
In his resignation, Gurminder Singh thanked Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann and said that he had the opportunity to serve as the state’s top law officer for 18 months, for which he is grateful. He wrote in his letter that he now wants to resume his private practice, so it is not possible for him to continue in this post. He requested that his resignation be sent to the Governor for approval as soon as possible.
Successful on important fronts including Dallewal’s hunger strike, Ravi-Beas water dispute
It is worth noting that Gurminder Singh took over as the Advocate General of Punjab on 5 October 2023 and during this time represented the state in many important legal battles.
He played an important role in saving the Chief Secretary and DGP in the contempt case in the cognizance taken by the Supreme Court regarding the hunger strike by farmer leader Jagjit Singh Dallewal.
Apart from this, he also played an important role in getting the contempt petition related to the farmers’ protest at Khanauri and Shambhu border dismissed.
He also achieved great success in reopening the 1987 tribunal report on Ravi-Beas water dispute, which gave Punjab an opportunity to claim a greater share of water.
As a result, the tribunal ordered a visit to assess the ground situation. He also succeeded in getting the postponement of Panchayat and Municipal Corporation elections lifted.
He effectively presented Punjab’s side on the issue of stubble burning and rejected the notion of holding Punjab alone responsible for pollution. He argued that vehicles, industries and construction work also contribute significantly to air pollution.
The government saved crores of rupees during Gurminder Singh’s tenure
After his intervention in the sacrilege case related to Gurmeet Singh, the Supreme Court stayed the order of the Punjab and Haryana High Court, which had given instructions to stop the trial. During Gurminder Singh’s tenure, the government cut down on the appointment of external senior lawyers, saving crores of rupees of the state.
He implemented the legal management system in the Advocate General’s office, started the process of digitization of files and also completed the promotion of employees pending for years. Due to his strategy, the Supreme Court also directed to settle the pending bills of the Punjab Assembly.
Bedi will be the fourth AG in the tenure of the AAP government
Now the government has appointed Maninderjit Singh Bedi as the new Advocate General. He will be the fourth AG in the three-year tenure of the AAP government. Let us tell you that Anmol Ratan Sidhu, Vinod Ghai and Gurminder Singh Gary have resigned from the post of AG from time to time.
