Undeterred by HC contempt proceeding, Odiha lawyers continue strike

Undeterred by the contempt of court proceeding initiated by a full bench of the Orissa High Court against frequent strikes by lawyers in the state, the court's bar association on Wednesday decided to continue to shun work till Monday.

The lawyers have gone on strike in protest against the selection of a New Delhi-based Odia advocate as the high court's judge.

Bar sources said lawyers appearing in about half a dozen lower courts and tribunals in the city will also boycott their respective judicial forums till Monday.

A full bench of the high court, comprising its Chief Justice K S Jhaveri and all 13 judges on Tuesday had issued notices to 68 bar associations of the state, including the Orissa High Court Bar Association (OHCBA) and Odisha State Bar Council, after taking suo motu cognisance of the frequent strike by lawyers in the state.

The high court too is scheduled to take up the contempt proceeding on Monday.

Odisha lawyers' apex body OHCBA, meanwhile, has convened a meeting of the executive bodies of all 68 bar associations in the state on October 18 here to deliberate upon the the contempt proceeding undertaken by the high court.

An OHCBA statement on Wednesday further said the lawyers of the entire state will remain absent from their respective courts on October 18.

"A panel of senior lawyers will be formed to deal with the contempt proceedings by the full bench of the High Court," it added.

The general body of OHCBA has also decided to send a lawyers' delegation to Bhubaneswar on Thursday to meet state Law Minister Pratap Jena and apprise him of the ongoing developments arising out of vacant positions of judges in the high court.

The high court's full bench on Tuesday took up a criminal contempt petition initiated by the court's judicial registrar to which the state of Odisha, the bar Councils and bar associations of the state were arraigned as respondents.

The full bench of the high court subsequently took suo motu cognisance of the frequent strikes by lawyers and issued notices to all 68 bar associations in the state, besides the state chief secretary and the secretaries of the law and home departments of Odisha.

Observing that frequent strikes by lawyers and stoppage of court works are obstructing the administration of justice, the bench also issued notices to the chairmen of the Bar Council of India and Odisha State Bar Council.

The respondents have been asked to file their replies by October 21, the next day of hearing of the matter.