Chandigarh, July 29, 2026 (Yes Punjab News)
A legal debate has emerged in Haryana over the continued use of the term “Attorney” in the official designations of regular government law officers, with a Punjab and Haryana High Court advocate asserting that the nomenclature is inconsistent with the Advocates Act, 1961 and the existing statutory framework governing the legal profession.
The issue has gained prominence as the Haryana Public Service Commission (HPSC) is currently conducting the recruitment process for 255 posts of Assistant District Attorney (ADA). The Commission declared the results of the screening examination on July 24 for the test held on July 5, and shortlisted candidates are now set to appear for the Subject Knowledge Test next month, followed by interviews.
Punjab and Haryana High Court advocate Hemant Kumar, who specialises in legal and legislative matters, has served a fresh legal notice on the Haryana Home Department, challenging the continued use of the designations District Attorney (DA), Deputy District Attorney (DDA) and Assistant District Attorney (ADA) for regular government law officers.
According to Kumar, Parliament amended the Advocates Act in 1976 by removing the expression “Attorney” from the statute, leaving only two recognised classes of legal practitioners—Advocates and Senior Advocates. He contends that the continued use of the term “Attorney” for regular government lawyers has no statutory basis.
In his representation, Kumar argued that these officers are separately authorised by government notifications to function as Government Pleaders in civil matters and Public Prosecutors in criminal cases. He maintained that in actual court proceedings, they appear and sign pleadings only in those recognised capacities and not as “Attorneys.”
He also pointed out that the Union Government does not use the designation “Attorney” for its regular legal officers, instead employing titles such as Law Officer, Legal Adviser, Government Counsel and Public Prosecutor.
Referring to Article 76 of the Constitution, Kumar said the Constitution specifically recognises only the office of the Attorney General for India as the country’s highest law officer. He argued that neither the Constitution nor any statute provides for regular government posts such as District Attorney, Deputy District Attorney or Assistant District Attorney.
The advocate further highlighted that even the Office of the Advocate General, Haryana, uses designations such as Additional Advocate General, Deputy Advocate General and Assistant Advocate General for its contractual law officers. He also noted that the Haryana Law Officers (Engagement) Act, 2016 does not employ the expression “Attorney” for such appointments.
Kumar has urged the Haryana Government to amend the relevant service rules by replacing the word “Attorney” with legally recognised designations such as Government Advocate, Government Pleader, Public Prosecutor or Law Officer. According to him, such a change would align the state’s service nomenclature with the Advocates Act, the constitutional framework and the prevailing legal regime governing the legal profession.
The Haryana Government has not issued any official response to the legal notice or the objections raised by the advocate.
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