Consulting Advocate B.K. Singh: Questions and Answers

Call or WhatsApp +91 96259 61599 and say, in a line or two, what the order is and when it was passed. You will be given a time at the Dwarka office, the Vaishali office or on a video call. Mornings often go to court work, so meetings are fixed by appointment. If a deadline or a relieving date is close, mention it at the start so the meeting can be arranged quickly. You can also write to us through the contact page.

Pick whichever is easier for you to reach; the advice is the same at both. The Dwarka office is in Sector 7 on Ramphal Chowk Road, handy for west and south-west Delhi and the Gurugram side. The Vaishali office is at Cloud9, Tower S3, Vaishali Sector 1, handy for east Delhi, Ghaziabad, Noida and Indirapuram. Your case is not tied to the office you visit. The bench depends on your posting or, for pensioners, often your residence.

Better not. The advocates are often in the tribunal or the High Court during working hours, and a walk-in may find nobody free to read your papers. A call or WhatsApp message the same morning is usually enough to get a slot soon if the matter is urgent. It also lets us tell you which documents to carry, so the trip is not wasted.

Yes. You will be told when you book. Whether the first meeting is charged, and on what terms, is made clear in advance so there is no surprise at the end. If advice depends on reading a long inquiry file first, that is also discussed upfront. The firm does not publish its fee amounts, in keeping with the Bar Council rules on advertising by advocates.

Carry the order you want to challenge, your representation or appeal and any reply to it, recent salary slips or the PPO if you are retired, and your appointment and promotion orders. In a disciplinary case, bring the charge memo, your written statement, the inquiry report and the penalty order. A one-page list of dates in your own words helps more than people expect. Bring photocopies and keep the originals with you. See organising your case folder.

Yes. Many people come with only the final order, or even just a message from the office. The first meeting can pin down which documents matter and how to get them: a written request to your office, a copy of the service book, or an RTI application. Do not wait months to collect everything if a time limit is running, because the deadline is the first thing to check. Bring what you have and an honest account of what happened.

Yes, if you want them there. Many employees come with a spouse, a union representative or a colleague who knows the office background. Keep in mind that something said in front of a third person may not stay as protected as a private talk with your advocate, so share sensitive points, such as a pending FIR or a health issue, privately if you prefer. Instructions on the case itself must come from you.

Not from us. Your consultation and the papers you share are confidential, and the firm does not write to your department unless you instruct it to, for example to send a legal notice or file a case. Communications between a client and an advocate are protected under Section 132 of the Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam, 2023. If you send papers from an office computer or official email, though, your office may see them, so use personal channels.

No. Permission is not needed to go to the CAT over your own service grievance. People sometimes mix this up with Rule 19 of the CCS (Conduct) Rules, 1964, which needs sanction before you go to court or the press to defend an official act of yours that has been publicly attacked. That rule is about vindicating official acts, not about challenging a transfer, penalty or pension order. You should, though, normally use the departmental remedy first. See exhausting departmental remedies.

Please do not. Share only papers that were given to you, addressed to you, or obtained under RTI. Copying official files you are not entitled to hold can itself lead to a charge under the Conduct Rules, and it weakens the case you are trying to build. If a noting or a DPC minute is needed, you will be told how to get it lawfully: through RTI, an inspection request, or a direction from the tribunal asking the department to produce the record.

That is the arrangement. For benches outside Delhi, the firm prepares the case and works with associate counsel at that bench for filing and routine dates, and Advocate B.K. Singh can appear in person for important hearings such as final arguments or a contested stay. Travel and local counsel costs for an outstation bench are set out in writing before filing, so you know them in advance.

Yes, through an Advocate-on-Record. Under the Supreme Court Rules only an Advocate-on-Record can file there, so the petition is prepared with an AOR who files it, and Advocate B.K. Singh can argue it. The 90-day limit from the High Court's judgment keeps running while you decide, so bring the certified copy as soon as you have it. See our page on SLPs in service matters.

Yes. Under Rule 14(8) of the CCS (CCA) Rules, an advocate can defend you in the inquiry only if the presenting officer is a legal practitioner or the disciplinary authority allows it, so a refusal is common. Help from outside still counts for a lot: drafting the written statement, preparing cross-examination questions for your defence assistant, and writing the defence brief. If the case is complicated, a fresh, reasoned request to the disciplinary authority is worth making. See help in an inquiry without a lawyer.

Fees are discussed at the first meeting and agreed in writing, stage by stage. A representation, an original application in the CAT, a stay application, a High Court writ and contempt proceedings are separate stages, and each is agreed on its own. Out-of-pocket costs such as the small CAT filing fee, typing, paper books, courier and travel to another city are explained separately. Ask about anything unclear before you agree, so you know the cost of the next stage before it begins.

Not automatically. A writ in the High Court is a new stage, so the terms for defending it are agreed separately, in writing, when the writ notice reaches you. It helps to plan for this from the start, because departments often challenge orders on pay, pension and promotion. Keep your phone number and address current with us after the CAT order, so a High Court notice is not missed. See defending a department's writ.

Yes, and it often makes sense. Employees with the same cause of action and the same relief can join in one original application with the tribunal's permission, which saves cost and keeps the result uniform. Each person still signs the vakalatnama and gives basic service details. Pick two or three of you to coordinate with us, so instructions do not arrive from fourteen directions. See a joint OA for several applicants.

Yes. People often want a second view on a draft OA, a stay strategy, or whether to go to the High Court after losing at the tribunal. Bring the papers filed so far and the latest order sheet. You do not need your present lawyer's permission to consult, though it is courteous to tell them if you later decide to change. A second opinion looks at your case, not at criticising anyone's work.

You sign a fresh vakalatnama in favour of the new advocate, and the earlier advocate's no-objection is usually filed with it, or the change is placed before the bench. Collect your file from the earlier lawyer, especially copies of everything filed and the order sheet. Make the change between dates, not on the day of a final hearing, so the case is not adjourned. Settle any pending dues as agreed, which avoids friction over handing over the file.

Yes, Hindi or English, whichever you are comfortable with. Most of a service case is about dates, orders and what happened in the office, and that is better told in your own words. Applications to the tribunal are usually drafted in English, and the draft is explained to you before you sign it, so you know what is being said on your behalf. Hindi documents can be filed with translations where the bench needs them.

Yes, quite often. Sometimes the honest advice is not to file: the time limit has passed with no good explanation, the department's order is correct under the rules, or a fresh representation stands a better chance than a case. Advocate B.K. Singh says this at the first meeting rather than after months and money are spent. Where a case is worth filing, you will also hear the main weakness the department is likely to use against you.

Meet first, even briefly, and the same day if you can. Your written statement of defence is the base on which the whole inquiry is built, and a careless admission there is very hard to undo. If three days are not enough for a careful reply, a short letter asking for more time and for copies of the listed documents can usually go at once. Bring the charge memo and its annexures. See letters to answer only after advice.

Yes. Many matters end at the representation stage, when a clear and well-supported letter gets the department to correct a pay fixation or a seniority mistake. A representation written with the tribunal in mind also helps later, because it puts the right grounds on record and starts the six-month period under Section 20. The fee for drafting alone is agreed separately. You sign it and submit it through proper channel yourself.

You can coordinate, but the claim is your mother's, so she must sign the vakalatnama and any affidavit herself. If she cannot travel, papers can be sent to her home for signature, and video calls can include both of you. If you are the applicant and live abroad, an affidavit signed outside India generally needs attestation, often at an Indian mission or before a local notary with the formalities the bench accepts. You will be told exactly what is needed.

After each hearing you will be told the next date, with a short note on what happened, and sent every order as it is uploaded. You can also check the status on the CAT website with your OA number. When the department files its reply, you get a copy to read, because your comments on its facts are needed for the rejoinder. Keep your phone number and address current with us, especially after retirement or a transfer.

Yes. CAT hearings are open, and you can attend at the bench or join the virtual link where the bench allows it. Your presence is not usually needed unless the bench directs it. It helps to be there at the final hearing if facts in the department's reply are disputed, so a point can be checked with you on the spot. Sit quietly and pass notes to your advocate rather than addressing the bench yourself.

No. Bar Council rules do not allow advocates to publish client names or advertise results, and the firm does not. Examples on this site are made up to explain the law. Your matter is discussed only with you and those working on it. Tribunal orders are public documents and appear on the CAT website and legal databases with the parties' names, but that is the court's own process, not publicity by the firm.

Then the firm would not act for both sides. Before taking up a matter, it checks whether anyone on the other side has been advised, such as a junior whose seniority you want to displace or an officer you accuse of bias. If there is a conflict, you will be told so and can consult elsewhere. Mention the names of any private respondents at first contact, so this check is done before you share details.

Send clear scans or photos of the main orders a little before the call, with pages in order and readable. Keep the originals at hand during the call to check dates. Sit somewhere quiet with a steady connection, and jot down your questions so none is forgotten. If a family member will join, tell us in advance. Our guide to online briefing from another state covers signatures and courier.

Yes. The first task in any consultation is working out the right forum, and you will be told plainly where your case belongs. CAPF personnel such as CRPF, BSF and CISF generally go to the High Court by writ after their departmental appeal and revision, and Advocate B.K. Singh appears before the Delhi High Court and other High Courts. Armed forces personnel go to the Armed Forces Tribunal. See CAPF and armed forces forums.

Candidates too. People rejected at document verification, declared medically unfit, or kept waiting for an appointment letter after selection also bring cases to the CAT, and the consultation works the same way. Bring the examination notice, your admit card and result, the rejection letter or message, and the certificate in dispute. Time matters even more for candidates, because posts get filled and waiting lists expire, so get in touch as soon as the rejection arrives.

No. A consultation does not bind you to engage the firm. If you decide to go ahead, you will sign a vakalatnama and, for a case, the verification on the application and any affidavit, after reading the draft. The fee terms are confirmed in writing before work starts. Take the time you need to decide, but keep the limitation date in view.

It depends on the case and the papers. A simple OA against one order, with the representation already on record, can be drafted fairly quickly once every annexure is in hand, while a disciplinary case with a long inquiry file needs more reading. You will be given a working date when terms are agreed. The usual cause of delay is a missing document, so send everything asked for in one go.

Besides Advocate B.K. Singh, Advocate Sadhna Singh and other members of the team may call you for documents, dates and signatures, and associate counsel may contact you if your case is at a bench outside Delhi. You will be told at the start who your point of contact is. If anyone asks you for money in the firm's name, confirm it on +91 96259 61599 before paying.

Yes. Tell us your situation at the first contact, and the fee is discussed openly before any work starts. Many family pension problems can be settled by a well-drafted representation, without a case. If you need free help, women are entitled to free legal services under Section 12 of the Legal Services Authorities Act, 1987, whatever their income, and the legal services authority or committee near you can assign a lawyer. See our page on family pension claims.

Your originals stay with you throughout, because the firm works from copies. You get copies of everything filed, every order and the final judgment. Keep them safely for years, since pay and pension orders are often needed again for revisions, arrears and family pension later. Store the final order and the department's compliance letter together, somewhere your family knows about.