According to the Times of India, as tweeted by Saurav Datta the Maharashtra state home department has selected three law firms in order to:

help it formulate laws pertaining to it, according to a notification validating the appointment issued this week. The department has been engaged in a battle in the Supreme Court over the dance bar issue.

The agencies will assist the government in drafting notifications, law, bye-laws and legislations. As they also have expertise in handling legal issues, they will help the department comprehend court orders.

“While dealing with rules and regulations, there is always a chance that some loopholes creep in, and our officials may not be equipped to address those issues; that is where the expert agencies will help us,” said a department official.

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“They will also have to help us prepare arguments on sensitive court matters,” said another official. Experts have raised a flag over the decision, stating that it will lead to giving away of important and sensitive information to private, non-governmental agencies. Some officials have also questioned the selection, when there already is a full-fledged law and judiciary department, which has to assist the government on issues related to legal matters and other regulations.

While the Times of India has not named the firms, the notification in Marathi published on the department’s website lists Lakshmikumaran & Sridharan (LKS), Link Legal India Law Services and Tuli & Co as the three law firms empaneled, with a total of 12 firms having applied for the tender.

A Google translation of the text suggests that the firms will “make changes” to legal drafts, and “give legal advice to the department”.

Read full notification here (PDF 2.6MB)

If you can read Marathi and there is anything interesting in the notification we missed, please let us know in the comments.