(Tribune)
The Supreme Court has summoned the Chief Secretary to appear before it and explain why no lawyers have been engaged by the state for appearing for it in criminal matters.The top court said it was “unfortunate” that there was no representation on behalf of the state of Himachal Pradesh and the lawyer present had no instruction to appear in the matter.A Bench of Justices NV Ramana and S Abdul Nazeer, which was hearing a criminal appeal pending since 2011, wanted to know if there was any remission scheme pending for considering early release of convicts, who had suffered more than 15 years of incarceration.