SAT lawyers launch stir

Demanding withdrawal of Odisha government's decision to abolish the state administrative tribunal (SAT), lawyers of Cuttack SAT Bar Association today launched an indefinite strike.
The lawyers boycotted tribunal activities of the day, and staged a dharna here giving anti-government slogans.
"We will gherao the Assembly on Monday along with lawyers of Bhubaneswar SAT Bar Association," said Cuttack SAT Bar Association secretary Ullash Mohanty.
He said members of other bar associations in the State would be requested to support them.
Lawyers of Bhubaneswar Bar Association also ceased work on the day.
The state cabinet in September had accepted a proposal to abolish all benches of SAT. The Tribunal was established in July 1986 to provide quick justice to aggrieved government employees. While only eight states of the country, including Odisha, had established SAT, three have already abolished it.

The state government has written to the Centre about its desire to abolish SAT soon after the cabinet decision.
Currently over 50,000 cases are pending in the permanent and circuit benches of the Tribunal across the state.