Members of Kalahandi Bar Association began their indefinite strike here on Wednesday.
They are protesting appointment of non-judicial employees from outside the district under Kalahandi judgeship.
The lawyers alleged that overlooking local candidates, 12 peons and as many candidate peons were appointed last month from outside the district for Kalahandi judgeship.
Candidate peons are those who will act as peon without salary till they will be appointed as regular peon in future.
The general body of the bar association had on June 28 demanded a high-level probe into the recruitments and resolved to launch an indefinite strike if action was not taken within a fortnight.
“We had drawn the attention of the Chief Justice of Orissa High Court requesting him to intervene and order an impartial probe into the matter. As nothing was initiated into the issue since then, we decided to launch an indefinite agitation,” said secretary of the bar association Sudhir Kumar Pattnaik.
The bar association members had earlier lamented that the candidates of Kalahandi were ignored even during appointing staff for class III and class IV employees.
“It is a matter of regret that authorities did not find the candidates of Kalahandi district suitable even for posts of peon and preferred to appoint people from outside the district,” said the president of the association, Daitary Pradhan.
Both Pattnaik and Pradhan said that the agitation would continue until the High Court does not intervene into the issue.