THE HONOURABLE SRI JUSTICE V. ESWARAIAH WRIT PETITION No.14479 OF 2005 Dated: 20-02-2006 Between V. Vishwanatham, S/o. Late V. Rangaiah, Occ: Advocate, H.No.39/SRT Municipal Colony, Old Malakpet, Hyderabad. …PETITIONER AND The Government of A.P. rep by its Principal Secretary, Municipal Administration Department, Secretariat, Hyderabad and others. …RESPONDENTS ORDER: This writ petition is filed seeking a declaration that the action of the respondents in not paying the legal fee to the petitioner as per fee bill dated 15.12.2003 as arbitrary and illegal. The petitioner is a practicing advocate. It is not in dispute that the petitioner was appointed as a standing counsel for the Municipalities (Telangana Area) vide G.O.Rt.No.1094 dated 09.07.1999 and has represented the respondents before this Court, Labour Court and the Andhra Pradesh Administrative Tribunal in several cases until his successor has been appointed in the month of April 2003. The petitioner states that he was not paid the legal fee to which he is entitled to in number of cases and therefore he has sent a consolidated fee bill to the respondent municipalities through registered post with acknowledgement due and he has also submitted representation to the respondents 1 and 2 on 23.05.2005 requesting them to direct the Municipal Commissioners to make payment of fee due to him. The only grievance of the petitioner is that the respondents have not paid the legal fee even till today and the consolidated bill has been merely kept pending. Hence, this writ petition. Having heard the learned counsel for the petitioner and Sri S. Nageswara Reddy, learned standing counsel appearing for the respondents and in view of the undisputed fact that the petitioner was appointed as Standing Counsel for the Municipalities and appeared for the respondents during his tenure, and on a perusal of the material on record, which shows that the petitioner has submitted a consolidated fee bill as long back as on 15.12.2003, I deem it appropriate to dispose of the writ petition with a direction to the respondents to process the said bill submitted by the petitioner dated 15.12.2003 and to make the payment to the petitioner in accordance with law, as expeditiously as possible, preferably within a period of eight weeks from the date of receipt of a copy of this order. The writ petition is accordingly disposed of. ______________ V. ESWARAIAH, J February 20, 2006 DSK