LUCKNOW, Feb. 1 -- The Lucknow bench of the Allahabad high court has directed that a public interest litigation (PIL) related to the engagement of government advocates be listed on February 4, in terms of its earlier order. The order was passed on January 29 by a division bench comprising Justice Rajesh Singh Chauhan and Justice Rajeev Bharati on the PIL filed by Mahendra Singh Pawar in 2017 challenging the engagement of state government advocates in the high court. Three other public interest litigations were filed by other persons thereafter in the matter in question. The petitioners have challenged the selection process of state government counsel in the Allahabad high court and its Lucknow bench. They have also raised the critical issue of how many government advocates are required to represent the state in the Allahabad high court and its Lucknow bench. The petitioners alleged that the arbitrary engagement of more than 2000 state government advocates without a clear, need-based criterion and adopting fair procedure was made. The high court directed to list the matter on February 4 for further hearing. MANOJ KUMAR SINGH...