Lucknow, May 13 -- The Lucknow bench of the Allahabad high court has directed the Uttar Pradesh government to clarify a critical legal boundary: can lawyers paid by the state to defend it, also represent private citizens in lawsuits filed against the government?

Justice Saurabh Lavania raised the question on May 8 during the hearing of a contempt petition. The court sought a definitive response from the state's Legal Remembrancer (LR) -the state's top legal advisory officer-on whether additional government advocates or standing counsel who receive a retainership from the state are permitted to institute proceedings against government authorities or their officers.

The issue surfaced while hearing a case moved by Ashok Kumar Singh and 28...