Lawyers demanding High Court bench at Kolhapur call off stir

Lawyers practising in district courts of western Maharashtra have called off their 55-day-old agitation to press for their demand to set up a High Court bench at Kolhapur after the Bombay High Court appointed a two-member committee to look into the issue.
The lawyers in various courts at Sangli, Satara, Kolhapur and Solapur had boycotted work since last two months to press for their demand for a High Court bench at Kolhapur.
In the absence of a bench at Kolhapur, all the matters were heard at the High Court in Mumbai, lawyers said.
A delegation of lawyers from western Maharashtra met Chief Justice Mohit Shah last evening who appointed a two-member committee to look into their demand.

The committee has been asked to file a report by January 31 next year.
The High Court had recently taken the lawyers to task for going on strike and paralysing judicial work. In one case, the lawyers did not appear in a Satara court and were asked by the Bombay High Court to pay costs of Rs 3,000 for delaying the case.
The lawyers were also warned by the High Court to call off their agitation or else action would be taken against them.