WP/45051/2026 of D.GOPAL Vs The Secretary to Government of Tamil Nadu on 4 November 2026

ORDER

The writ petition is filed seeking the following relief : " To direct the respondents to forthwith disburse the petitioners pending professional fee bills amounting to Rs.7,80,000/- for filing 26 LPAs based on the 2nd and 3rd respondents proceedings dated 26.11.2025 and 11.12.2025 via Electronic Clearing Service (ECS) within the time frame to be fixed by this Court.

2. The petitioner is an Advocate by profession. He was appointed as Government Advocate in the High Court of Madras for the period from 2021 to 2026. The case of the petitioner is that he represented the first respondent-State in 26 Letters Patent Appeals (LPAs), and the professional fee for each LPA is Rs.30,000/-, and therefore the professional fees for 26 LPAs works out to Rs.7,80,000/-. The petitioner had submitted the bill on 09.06.2025 to the first respondent and the same was forwarded to second respondent. Thereafter, the second respondent vide its letter dated 26.11.2025 had forwarded the claim of

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the petitioner to the third respondent for taking necessary action. The third respondent in turn had forwarded the bills of the petitioner to the fourth respondent on 11.12.2025, directing to remit the said amount into the account of the petitioner through Electronic Clearing Service (ECS). However, till date there is no progress in making the payment to the petitioner. Hence the petitioner is before this Court seeking a mandamus to the respondents to disburse the said amount of Rs.7,80,000/- to him.

3. A perusal of the records would show that the second respondent had addressed a communication to the third respondent on 26.11.2026, enclosing the original fee bill for Rs.7,80,000/- claimed by the petitioner, for necessary action. Subsequently, the third respondent vide his letter dated 11.12.2025 had also addressed a communication to the fourth respondent, which reads as below : "ghh;it ?2y; fhQqk; muR fojj;Jld;. jpU D/nfhghy;. muR tHf;fwp"h; mth;fs; nkw;fhQk; Cont.Petn.561-563/2012 tHf;Ffspd; 11/04/2023(k) 22/08/2024 ehspl;l jPh;g;g[fis vjph;j;J jhf;fy ; bra;ag;gl;l Letter Patent Appeal fSf;fhd fl;lzg;gl;oay ; (bkhj;jk ; 26) ,t;tYtyfj;jpy ; bgwg;gl;Ls;sJ/ nkw;go bgwg;gl;l tHf;fwp"hpd ; fl;lzg;gl;oaiy mryhf. jf;f eltof;iff;ffhf j';fSf;F mDg;gp itf;fpnwd;/ nkYk ; nkw;fhQqk; fl;lzg;gl;oaiy xg;gspg;g[ bra;j tptu';fis muRtHf;fwp"h; mth;fSf;F neuoahf bjhptpf;FkhW md;g[ld; nfl;Lf;bfhs;fpnwd;/"

4. Despite the directions of the respondents 1 to 3 to take action on the claim of the petitioner, there appears to be a lapse on the fourth respondent for

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more than 10 months. Therefore, the fourth respondent is directed to implement the orders of the second and third respondent dated 26.11.2026 and 11.12.2025 forthwith and to effect payment to the petitioner for the said sum through ECS mode, within a period of four weeks from the date of receipt of a copy of this order.

5. With the above directions, the writ petition stands allowed. No costs. 04-11-2026 Index: Yes/No Speaking/Non-speaking order Neutral Citation: Yes/No DS

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To:

1. The Secretary to Government of Tamil Nadu Highways and Minor Ports Department, Fort St. George, Chennai-600 009.

2. The Joint Secretary to Government of Tamil Nadu Highways and Minor Ports Department, Fort St. George, Chennai-600 009

3. The Director General Highways Department, Guindy, Chennai-600 025.

4. The Chief Engineer (H) Constructions and Maintenance, Guindy, Chennai-600 025.

WP No. 45051 of 2026

P.T.ASHA, J. DS WP No. 45051 of 2026 04-11-2026