HC lawyers on hunger strike to protest vacant posts

Upping their ante, striking lawyers of Orissa High Court today resorted to an indefinite relay hunger strike demanding filling up of vacant posts of judges.
Along with the executive members of the High Court Bar Association led by its President Srikant Kumar Nayak, several other members sat on a hunger strike in front of the Association office here from 10.30 am to 5 pm.
"As decided by the Association yesterday, no fresh case was filed in the Court on the day and the clients were requested not to appear before the benches to argue their own cases," said Association Secretary Satyabrata Mohanty.

The lawyers are on strike since February 12, alleging that due to insufficient judges in the high court, the number of pending cases are mounting.
"Over 40 per cent of the sanctioned posts of judges are now lying vacant in the high court," Mohanty said, adding that 16 judges were now functioning against a sanctioned strength of 27, while two judges would retire in the next four months.