SAMBALPUR: Lawyers across Western Odisha resorted to cease work over the demand for establishment of a High Court (HC) Bench in the region from Monday and threatened to continue it till September 26.
The Central Action Committee (CAC) of All Western Odisha Bar Association (AWOBA) had decided to resort to cease work over the demand from September 17 at a meeting held in Jharsuguda on September 9.
Convenor of CAC Ashok Dash said establishment of a permanent HC Bench in the region is a genuine demand of the lawyers and people of Western Odisha. The lawyers of 37 Bar associations of the region have extended their support to the protest over the demand, he added.Dash said, “We are also planing to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi during his visit to Jharsuguda to inaugurate an airport on September 22 and apprise him about the demand. In this regard, we have already contacted the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) for an appointment.”
A 15-member delegation of CAC had called on Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on August 6 over the demand. Later, the Chief Minister wrote a letter to the Union Government for establishment of the HC Benches in Western and Southern Odisha on September 5.
In response to the letter, Union Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad wrote to the Chief Minister on September 10 asking the State Government to send a comprehensive proposal with the consent of the Chief Justice of Orissa High Court for setting up the HC Benches.Dash said both the Governments should stop war of letters and come up with a solution for establishment of HC bench in Western Odisha.