CUTTACK: The Orissa High Court Bar Association has decided to step up its campaign for filling up the vacancies in the High Court, with its members resolving to march to the Governor on October 1 over the matter and abstain from court work on that day as a mark of protest.
The decision was taken at a general body meeting of the association held on Tuesday. The association resolved to submit representations to the President, the prime minister and the Union Law minister seeking immediate appointment of judges to the High Court.
Announcing this at a press conference on Wednesday, Bar Association president Lalatendu Samantaray and secretary Hrudananda Mohapatra said the executive body, along with other members, would march to the Governor to submit the representation.The association has also decided that its members would not attend court proceedings on October 1 while participating in the peaceful march. It further warned of taking the protest to the street if the vacancies were not filled promptly.
The Bar Association has been highlighting the shortage of judges for some time. According to its press note, the sanctioned strength of the High Court is 33, but only 15 judges are currently in position following the transfer of two senior judges.
The association said the High Court is facing a backlog of nearly 1.7 lakh cases and claimed that the reduced judicial strength was making it increasingly difficult to deal with both pending and freshly filed matters.
It also pointed to difficulties in listing urgent and newly filed cases, saying the situation was causing delays for litigants and putting advocates under considerable professional and administrative pressure.
The association said its decision to intensify the agitation was prompted by the lack of appointments despite repeated representations. It also referred to recent appointments in several other High Courts, including Delhi, Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh, Jharkhand and Karnataka.
“We are therefore constrained to express our deep concern regarding the appointment of judges in the High Court of Orissa,” the association said, adding that it would take further steps in accordance with the general body resolution if appointments were not made promptly.
