CUTTACK: The Orissa High Court has directed Odisha State Bar Council (OSBC) to file a report on the ongoing strike by lawyers of Sambalpur District Bar Association.
The division bench of Chief Justice KS Jhaveri and Justice KR Mohapatra issued the direction to OSBC on Monday. The bench has asked OSBC to file report on August 5 by way of an affidavit stating steps taken by it regarding the lawyers’ strike.
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The Association has been on strike since September last year demanding establishment of a bench of Orissa High Court in Western Odisha. Cuttack-based lawyer Shivsankar Mohanty filed the PIL on the basis of an order issued by the Orissa High Court on April 15, 2008 in an identical situation.
The order had directed the Superintendent of Police, Sambalpur, “to ensure that the lawyers are prevented from obstructing either the judicial officers or members of litigant public or willing lawyers from entering the court premises.
The police officers must ensure that the judicial officers are allowed to enter the court premises and proceed with the work.” The HC had issued the direction on the basis of a judgment by the Supreme Court in 2002.
The Apex Court had in the judgment specified that the President of the Bar must first consult the Chief Justice or the District Judge before deciding to abstain from Court work.