Lawyers shun court proceedings over Pitabasa Panda’s murder
CUTTACK: Lawyers abstained from attending proceedings in the Orissa High Court and other subordinate courts here on Wednesday in response to the statewide ‘pen-down’ call given by the Odisha State Bar Council (OSBC) to protest the murder of Pitabasa Panda, a senior advocate of Berhampur.
Panda, a prominent member of the Berhampur Bar and OSBC member, was shot dead outside his residence by two unidentified assailants at around 10 pm on October 6. He was rushed to MKCG Medical College and Hospital, where he was declared dead.
High Court Bar Association (HCBA) president Manoj Mishra said, “We abstained from attending court proceedings today as a mark of solidarity in response to the call given by the Odisha State Bar Council. The HCBA in a special general body meeting unanimously passed a resolution condemning the brutal murder of an advocate and demanded exemplary action against the miscreants involved in the killing,” he said.
The Cuttack Bar Association, Cuttack Criminal Courts Bar Association, Board of Revenue Bar Association, Cuttack M.V. Lawyers Bar Association, Cuttack Tax Bar Association, Cuttack Debt Recovery Tribunal Bar Association, Cuttack CAT Bar Association and Cuttack Consumer Courts Bar Association also abstained from attending proceedings in their respective courts.
While urging all advocates in the state to abstain from court work on Wednesday, OSBC chairman Sitanshu Mohan Dwibedy said, “This barbaric act (killing of advocate Pitabasa Panda) is not just an attack on an individual, but the entire legal system. It demands immediate and serious response from the state.”
Bhubaneswar courts paralysed
Judicial activities remained paralysed in the state capital on Wednesday as members of Bhubaneswar Bar Association resorted to ‘pen-down’ strike to protest Panda’s killing.
Over 200 bar association members took out a candlelight march from their office to the court complex for the departed soul and demanded Rs 2 crore ex gratia for Panda’s family.
The legal fraternity in the city also demands enactment of Advocate Protection Act in the state, said Bhubaneswar Bar Association secretary Satya Ranjan Senapati.
“All members of the association, around 4,300, refused to take part in legal proceedings or any professional engagements as part of the pen-down strike on the day. We have also decided to join duty wearing black badges as a mark of protest from Thursday,” he added.
