LUCKNOW, Oct. 12 -- The Lucknow bench of the Allahabad high court has issued important guidelines regarding the appointments of state law officers (government lawyers) directing the state government to ensure that such appointments are based on merit and actual need. A division bench of Justice Rajesh Singh Chauhan and Justice Rajeev Bharti delivered the judgment on October 5, which was uploaded recently, on three PIL petitions. The petitions challenged the appointment process for government lawyers in the high court. The court stated that before making further appointments, the state government must assess the actual need for government lawyers. It stated that appointments should not be made simply to fill existing positions. The court's guidelines include clarifying selection criteria, maintaining workload records, making the selection process transparent, providing information on criminal cases, and providing no-objection certificates to government lawyers litigating cases against the state. The court disposed of the petitions by directing a review of the rules governing the participation of government lawyers in Bar Council and Bar Association elections. Advocate CB Pandey and other lawyers argued for the petitioners while the state government was represented by advocate general Ajay Kumar Mishra and chief standing counsel Shailendra Kumar Singh. Manoj Kumar Singh...