Three shortlisted for law secretary's post: Sources

The government is learnt to have shortlisted three persons for the post of law secretary which has been without a full-time officer since December last year. Secretary (Justice) Alok Shrivastava, an IAS officer, in the law ministry is holding additional charge of law secretary.

Usually the posts of secretary (legal affairs) also called the law secretary and secretary (legislative department) are held by Indian Legal Service officers. The Indian Legal Service has officers till the post of joint secretary, and additional secretaries and the secretary are "ex-cadre" officers.

A search-cum-selection committee headed by then Cabinet Secretary P K Sinha recently interacted with six officers, which included additional secretary in the legal affairs department of the law ministry S R Misra, additional secretaries Reeta Vashisth and K Biswal of the legislative department of the ministry, A K Gulati, a retired Indian Railways Personnel Service office heading the central agency section of the law ministry in the Supreme court holding the rank of an additional secretary, Principal Judge Anoop Mendiratta of Delhi Higher Judicial Service and Sanjay Singh, an additional secretary in the Panchayati Raj Ministry. Following the interaction, three persons -- Mendiratta, Gulati and Singh -- were shortlisted for the post, sources in the government said.

Now, the Appointments Committee of Cabinet, headed by the prime minister, will finalise the name of the next law secretary. At least 60 people, including government officers, district judges, advocates and legal experts had applied for the post which was advertised by the government recently.

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