Cheated by his own Lawyer-rescued by high court

The Punjab and Haryana High Court Legal Services Authority has come to the rescue of a hapless father, who had been pursuing a legal battle for the past 22 years to claim enhanced compensation for the death of his 13-year-old daughter in a road accident in 1991.

Keeping in view the poor financial condition of 64-year-old Prem Singh, and that his side is properly represented, the authority has appointed a lawyer who will argue his case free of cost. Advocate Ravi Kamal Gupta has been asked to argue the case on behalf of Prem Singh, who has levelled serious allegations against two senior high court lawyers.

Singh, in an application filed in October, had alleged that he was cheated by his lawyer, who gave a false statement on his behalf to the court saying he (Singh) did not want the enhanced compensation.

Aggrieved, Singh had alleged that his lawyer connived with the lawyer of the opposite party and gave a false statement in the court so that the compensation be scaled down.

Terming this a "white lie", the 64-year-old had moved the High Court. Singh, a resident of Ropar and a retired employee of the Punjab Education Department, has alleged that his lawyer not only cheated him by charging fee but also joined hands with the lawyer of the opposite party and took money from them as well.

Taking serious note of the allegation, the high court had issued notices to both the lawyers, asking them to respond to the allegations. Both are senior lawyers (not designated) practising in the high court for nearly three decades.

In 2010 Singh learned that his lawyer had moved an application on his behalf that the enhanced compensation be scaled down. A paltry amount of Rs 25,000 was awarded by a Ropar court in 1993 as compensation to be paid to Singh. The amount was finally enhanced to Rs 2.25 lakh by the Punjab and Haryana High Court after 15 years, in 2008, with an interest of 9 per cent on the amount.