Odisha Bar Council serves ultimatum to government on SAT

The Bar Council of Odisha today extended its deadline giving more time to the Odisha government to take a decision on recalling its proposal to abolish the State Administrative Tribunal.
Serving an ultimatum to the government to take a decision by the end of November this year, the Council said that lawyers across the state will continue their protest against the government's decision by wearing black badges.
"Since the state government is claimed to be preoccupied during the past fortnight, no decision on recalling the proposal to abolish the SAT could be taken," said Bar Council hairman Manas Mohapatra after an executive meeting.

"However, sources in the government have assured us that a decision would be taken in this regard by the end of next month," Mohapatra said.
The lawyers across the state would continue their protest until a "suitable" decision was taken with regard to continuation of SAT, Mohapatra said.
The State Cabinet on September 9 had approved a proposal to abolish all benches of the Tribunal, which was established in July 1986 with an aim to provide speedy justice to aggrieved government employees at their doorstep.

While only eight states, including Odisha, have established SAT in the entire country, three of them have already abolished it.

Upset with the state government's decision, lawyers across Odisha had launched massive agitation paralysing judicial activities, including that of the High Court.
The Bar Council of Odisha, nevertheless, stepped in after a fortnight and submitted a memorandum to the Chief Minister on September 28 urging him to recall the decision.