STATE ATTORNEY

Institution: State Attorney

Location: Office of the Advocate General, Ernakulam

Internship period: March – April 2024

I. Introduction

(a) Statute & Constitutional Authority

The Office of the Advocate General of Kerala is a constitutional body created under Article165

of the Constitution of India. This article mandates that the Governor appoint a person qualified

to be a High Court judge as Advocate General, to act as the State’s chief legal advisor and

perform duties assigned by the Governor, holding office during their pleasure. The Advocate

General also enjoys participation rights in the State Legislature (Assembly/Council) as per

Article177, though without voting privileges.

State attorneys, Govt. pleaders and special public prosecutors are appointed to assist the

Advocate General.

(b) Vision & Mission

While not formally stated, the office’s core purpose is clear: to serve as the principal legal

advisor to the Kerala government and represent the State in civil, criminal, appellate, and

constitutional cases before the Kerala High Court and the Supreme Court.

(c) Constitution & Appointment

• The Advocate General must be an Indian citizen who has either held judicial office for at

least 10 years or has been a High Court advocate for 10 years.

• Appointment is made by the Governor, based on the Council of Ministers’ advice, and
remuneration is also Governor-determined.

• Tenure is not fixed; they remain in office at the Governor’s pleasure, typically resigning

when the State Ministry changes.

The appointments to the office is purely under the discretion of the Ministry in charge.

The current state attorney is appointed for a period of three years.

(d) Composition of the Office

Under the Rules of 1956 and the Government Law Officers Rules, 1978, the office includes:

• Advocate General (currently K.Gopalakrishna Kurup)

• Additional Advocate Generals (Sri. Asok M Cherian & Sri.K.P Jayachandran)

• State Attorney (Sri N. Manoj Kumar)

• Director General of Prosecution & State Public Prosecutor (Sri.T.A.Shaji)

• Government Pleaders (For each department)

• Senior Government Pleaders & Special Pleaders

• Public Prosecutors

• Administrative staff: Secretary, Joint/Deputy Secretaries, Section Officers, ministerial staff.

State attorney office composition

Office was headed by N. Manoj Kumar sir, State attorney. Two other Govt. Pleaders, Pramod

sir and Ranjith sir assisted. In addition, there were Govt appointed Research Assistants to aid

the Govt pleaders. The state attorney has a confidential assistant appointed under him.

The research assistants are appointed by the Government through written exams and interviews

and is for a temporary period of 2 years.

(e) Powers & Functions

The main functions of the staff in the office are to process case files, collect records from
various Departments of Government, make available law books, statutes etc., and assist the
Advocate General and the Law Officers in the conduct of cases- Civil, Criminal, Original and
Appellate jurisdiction before the High Court of Kerala, the Supreme Court of India and other
courts, in which the State is a party.

The confidential assistant help manage case files, organize documents, and maintain databases
of legal information. This role involves managing calendars, scheduling meetings, coordinating
travel, and handling confidential communications. The attorneys and pleaders dictate the legal
information for preparation in shorthand which is then decoded by the assistant to prepare the
document.

RAs or Research Assistants provide essential support by conducting legal research, analysing
cases, and drafting documents. This role helps attorneys prepare for legal proceedings and
ensures the efficient handling of cases. They might also assist in drafting legal documents such
as briefs, motions, and memoranda and help manage case files, organize documents, and
maintain databases of legal information

The duty of representing the cases are often assigned to different State Attorneys according to
the nature of the case, for instance, Special Government pleaders for Finance, SC/ST,
Vigilance, Criminal, Forest, Revenue, Taxes etc. The attorney who guided me was majorly in
charge of financial disputes where the State is a party.

The functions can be summarised as:

• Provide legal advice to the State Government on constitutional and statutory matters.

• Represent the State in all legal proceedings—civil, criminal, constitutional—before the

Kerala High Court, Supreme Court, Administrative/Tribunal forums.

• Participate in legislative proceedings without voting rights.

• Oversee law officers, implement the State Litigation Policy, manage appointments, fees,

and discipline.
(e) Registers & Organization

Per statutory rules, the office maintains:

• Cause lists, docket sheets, and case registers by bench and category

Cause lists are prepared each day to organize the hearing. The list contains the case number
and the court hall in which the sitting is and the state of trial, i.e., Admission, Hearing etc., and
the person representing (whether State Attorney or Govt Pleaders)

The case files are arranged and stored in the office. Each case file contains all the necessary
documents related to it, even from the lower courts in the situation of appeals.

• Fee and appointment records for law officers

• Administrative staff records, office correspondence, internal registers

II. Initiatives Undertaken in the Past Year

The Advocate General’s Office has been proactive in:

• Streamlining case management, with e-filing integration in High Court operations.

• Capacity-building workshops for Government Pleaders to enhance procedural efficiency.

• Policy reviews, advising on statutes related to environmental, administrative, and

Devaswom Board governance.

• Regular legal audits and backend coordination for cases before administrative tribunals.

• Creating bench-specific registers to monitor Devaswom, PILs, and government orders via

High Court listing patterns.

III. My Personal Experience

During my two-week internship under the Government Pleader in the Advocate General’s
Office, Ernakulam, I gained hands-on exposure to litigation involving the State Government.
My work included attending High Court sittings, studying live case files, and preparing case
notes. The internship helped me develop a practical understanding of public law litigation and
government advocacy

Week 1

Week 1 was mostly about giving orientation about the structure of the office, the cases dealt
etc.

The attorney after court representations would often lecture about the importance of the
position and the pressures of representing the State. Sir normally took short sessions to discuss
about the current legal issues faced in the society and how important it is for the next generation
lawyers to work for that.

I was given most prominent and crucial case files which the state attorney represented. This
helped me understand more about drafting a petition. Learning about drafting and pleading and
sighting its real application was really appreciable.

One of the memorable case files was that of the famous Tharayil Finance scam which happened
in Kerala. It is still regarded as one of the major financial scams ever in the Kerala history with
over 100 crores scammed from investors. The incident occurred in the Pathanamthitta district
where the respondents were Sam Saji and his wife Rani Saji, the former arrested and the latter
still at large. The case file contained hundreds of complaints with bank statements from the
investors of the finance. The State has filed numerous interlocutory applications to seize the
assets of the respondents such as their houses, vehicles etc., following the attempt to transfer
it.

Another file was that of the Vizhinjam International Sea Port Ltd in the form of Writ petition.
It was filed by the petitioners to stop overnight noise producing works at the Vizhinjam Sea
Port Project. The Hon’ble High Court directed the company to stop carrying on such overnight
projects and thereby causing public disturbance.

On some days I would be asked to refer to landmark judgements having predominance even in
the present.

Some of the cases were D. K. Basu v. State of West Bengal, Kesavananda Bharati v. State of
Kerala., Vishaka v. State of Rajasthan etc.
Week 2

Late into the second week the interns were directed to attend court hearings to watch and
observe the proceedings more closely.

The hearings were attended on the basis of the cause list given that day. The interns are taught
about the importance of discipline and etiquettes in the court hall. Any lack of manners would
be directly raised by the Judges themselves.

During the course, I was well timed to witness the trial of the infamous Jisha murder case. The
appeal was filed by the respondent to quash the death sentence ordered by the Sessions Court,
Ernakulam. The prosecution was assisted by Sri Nazar sir, Special Public Prosecutor criminal.

I was able to hear the arguments diligently and take notes. The e court services and judgements
of the lower courts helped in gaining more knowledge about the facts and arguments thus
making the trial more interesting to listen. It was a noteworthy experience to understand how
the prosecution put forward arguments while striving to bring justice to the victim and her
family. But as law is double edged sword it also provided an opportunity to witness the process
of defense, where the counsel was equally talented and sometimes rage inducing in the
audience due to the moral element in the issue, but which is immaterial in the eyes of court.

Normally most of the hearings would be concluded by noon. The afternoon time was spent in
the office referring to the case files.

Some of the other prominent cases were:

• The case "Travancore Devaswom Board Vs. P. Prasannakumar" which involved a

review petition filed by the Travancore Devaswom Board regarding a previous court
order related to parking restrictions at Sabarimala, specifically around Pamba,
Chakkupalam, and Triveni. The original order, issued on November 19, 2019, had
prohibited parking of private vehicles in these areas, citing inconvenience to devotees.
The review petition argues that this prohibition has caused significant hardship for
devotees and that the Board needs more time to implement necessary infrastructure
improvements at Nilakkal, as per the Sabarimala Master Plan.
• The Superintendent Of Police vs P.Raveendran Pillai - Popular Finance Pvt. Ltd., a
financial establishment having its Head Office at Popular Towers, Konni, at
Pathanamthitta District in the State of Kerala, canvassed huge deposits from the general
public by advertising itself as "India's Emerging Gold Loan Company". They also
 promised an alluring rate of interest on deposits, much higher than the bank rate. Drawn
by such advertisements and beguiling claims, several gullible investors deposited their
life savings with the company. It is alleged that the Company opened about 277
branches all over India and received deposits estimated at Rs.1,600 Crores from about
30,000 depositors. It is alleged that the accused failed to pay the interest as offered, nor
did they return the money and thereby cheated the depositors. The case was charged
under BUDS Act (Banning of Unregulated Deposit Schemes Act), 2019, which is an
Indian law designed to ban unregulated deposit schemes and protect depositors from
fraudulent practices.

Court Attendance & Bench Observation

Each day of attending proceedings at the Kerala High Court. I observed various benches,
including

• Chief Justice Bench (A.J. Desai, CJ & V.G. Arun, J)

• Justice T.R. Ravi

• Justice Anil K. Narendran & Justice Harisankar V. Menon

• Justice Basant Balaji, among others.

This experience gave me first-hand exposure to procedural elements such as cause list calling,

adjournment handling, admissions, final hearings, and the arguments presented by both the

government pleaders and private advocates.

Case Study and Documentation

I examined a variety of cases involving the State. Some of the key cases listed during my
internship included:

Chief Justice Bench:

• W.A. No. 453/2021, W.A. No. 109/2021, 112/2021, 371/2021 etc

Category: Writ Appeals in Public Law matters

Justice T.R. Ravi:

• W.P.(C) No. 13926/2024, 6535/2024 and .3197/2024 for Admission

W. P. (C) means Writ Petition Civil.

Devaswom Board Cases (Justice Anil K. Narendran & Harisankar V. Menon):

• W.P.(C) No. 3088/2017

• W.P.(C) No. 18686/2017

• W.P.(C) No. 18934/2017

Justice Basant Balaji:

• W.P.(C) No. 7163/2024 c/w 10913/2024 – Petitions

• W.P.(C) No. 39467/2017 – Pending petition

• W.P.(C) No. 39844/2023 – For Hearing

• W.P.(C) No. 43000/2023 – Hearing

These cases dealt with a range of public interest concerns, Devaswom board disputes,

government orders, and constitutional writs.

Note Preparation

I performed the task of preparing daily notes on selected matters, focusing on:

• Bench composition and item numbers

• Listing purpose (Admission, Final Hearing, Petition Batch)

• State’s role – Petitioner/Respondent

• Summary of key issues and stage of proceedings

• Next hearing dates and interim orders, where applicable

I researched constitutional provisions, public law precedents, and government notifications to

build context before hearings. I also looked up interim orders or judgments via e-Courts
tracking, familiarizing myself with procedural cross-referencing. I captured each case’s:
comprehension stage, next listing, key issues etc.

Further, I drafted rough notes containing:

• Case details: number, type, bench

• Stage and scheduling info

• Legal aspects (e.g., statutory questions under Articles 226/227)

Process Breakdown

• Admission: Initial hearing stage where the Court decides to continue or dismiss the writ.

• Hearing: Arguments on merits or petitions’ final judgment.

• Interim Orders: Temporary reliefs (e.g., stays) during pendency.

• Adjournment: Cases postponed for procedural or preparatory reasons

IV. Conclusion

My internship offered valuable insights into the day-to-day functioning of State-level litigation:

• A complete view of how constitutional cases involving government entities are

handled.

• Practical understanding of High Court workflows: cause lists, bail/admission hearings,

and final adjudications.

• Enhancement of legal research, case brief formatting, and analytical writing skills.

• Familiarity with structural and administrative features of a constitutional law office in a

government setting.

This experience reinforced my aspiration to pursue litigation and public law advocacy,
especially within the government sector