Cal HC ceasework extended till Apr 2

The month-long ceasework called by lawyers' bodies, demanding appointment of judges, was extended till April 2 today.

The ceasework at the high court, which had 2.22 lakh cases pending before it at the end of January, had commenced on February 19. It has crippled the justice delivery system at the court.

All the three lawyers' associations of the court -- the Calcutta High Court Bar Association, the Bar Library Club and the Incorporated Law Society -- adopted separate resolutions today to extend the ceasework till April 2.

The Calcutta High Court Bar Association, which commands the allegiance of most of the lawyers, demanded that at least 50 per cent of the sanctioned strength of 72 judges be filled up immediately to ensure a quick disposal of the pending cases, its president Uttam Majumdar said.

"We met the chief justice of India on Friday and the Union law minister on Saturday to discuss our demands. The outcome of the deliberations and their appeal for withdrawing the ceasework were placed before a general body meeting of the bar association today," he added.

Most of the members were of the opinion that the ceasework should be extended till an assurance was received within a specific time-frame for filling up at least half of the sanctioned strength of the judges and thus, the resolution to extend it was adopted, Majumdar said.

The next course of action would be decided on April 3, he added.

Currently, there are 33 sitting judges at the high court, of whom two are on rotation at the Andaman and Nicobar Islands Circuit Bench.

The associations have also demanded the appointment of a chief justice to the high court. The court has been presided over by an acting chief justice for the last three years, with the exception of three months.

"We deliberated on the issue for nearly two hours and decided to continue with the ceasework till April 2 in view of the bar association's decision," Bar Library Club president Jayanta Mitra said.

The Incorporated Law Society also decided to extend the ceasework till the said date.

The judges sat in their respective courtrooms today, but no lawyer was present to plead for the litigants when the petitions were called for hearing.

The judges rose after some time to retire to their chambers.