Put your house in order: Delhi HC tells Govt as it hears Public Prosecutor plea for clearance of dues from last eight years

A public prosecutor has moved the Delhi High Court seeking a direction to the Delhi Government to clear her professional bills from the last eight years. (Piyush Gupta vs GNCTD & Ors)..The application by the public prosecutor forms part of a petition highlighting the issue of non-payment of dues to advocates on several government panels..Advocate Satish Aggrwal for the public prosecutor informed a Division Bench of Chief Justice DN Patel and Justice Parteek Jalan that in spite of submissions of dupicate bills, no action was taken by the government authorties. .While giving time to the counsel for the Delhi Government to seek instructions in the matter, the Court remarked, .You put your house in order!.The Court expressed its displeasure at the non-payment of professional bills for a period of eight years and asked the authorties to clear all legally payable dues till the next date of hearing. .Make the payment. It should come! If payment is not made, we will stop your salary.the Court said. .In its order passed in the matter, the Court recorded that in case the payment is not cleared, strictures will be passed on the next date. .During the course of the hearing, Additional Solictor General Chetan Sharma also said that it was the duty of the authorities to clear the professional dues payable to the panel advocates. .On the last date of hearing, the Court had directed the Delhi Government, municipal bodies and Central Government to clear within four weeks, the bills raised by their empanelled counsel on or before February 1, 2020. .Delhi HC directs clearance of professional bills that were raised by government counsel on or before February 1, 2020 .It is the Petitioner, Advocate Piyush Gupta's case that as per an order passed in 2015, the government bodies were under an obligation to clear professional dues of empanelled advocates within two months of the bill being raised..The matter would be heard next on December 4.