Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal has said that lack of proper defence of government position in courts has weakened government, calling on attorneys to mount proper and vigorous defence of government positions in cases where questions have been raised in the court of law. He made the remarks during an inspection visit of Office of Attorney General (OAG) on Sunday.

“The government’s authority is undermined in the absence of vigorous defence of government position in the court,” said Dahal. “If you mount effective defence, the government won’t be forced to be on the defensive.

As a result, it will be able to carry out reforms as required.”

The PM said he would provide all required support to the OAG and the government lawyers to do their job.

Attorney General Raman Shrestha pointed out the lack of human resources and infrastructure as impediment to proper functioning of the OAG. He urged the PM to extend his support.

Shrestha also rued lack of coordination between government departments. “A writ has been filed in the Supreme Court against the government decision to annul previous ambassadorial appointments. But Ministry of Foreign Affairs has not given us with relevant files to defend the government action in the court,” Shrestha said, citing a recent example.

Deputy Attorney General Durga Bandhu Pokhrel said that the OAG is woefully understaffed to handle high number of cases.

The OAG on an average handles 71,000 cases but there are hardly 300 lawyers, Pokhrel said. He also urged the PM to find a proper accommodation for the OAG as it is currently housed in a building that was damaged in last year’s earthquakes.