BENGALURU: Judges of the Karnataka High Court, led by Chief Justice Abhay Shreeniwas Oka, on Tuesday paid homage to advocates and staffers of the judiciary who died due to Covid-19. The State has lost as many as 218 advocates, five staffers of the high court, and 24 staffers in district and trial courts, as per official data.
The judges had gathered on the front lawns of the high court. Condoling the deaths, Chief Justice Oka requested them to observe two minutes of silence to pay homage to the departed souls. Advocate-General Prabhuling K Navadagi, chairman of Karnataka State Bar Council L Srinivasa Babu, and Advocates’ Association of Bangalore (AAB) president AP Ranganath were also invited.
On July 20, 2020, Chief Justice Oka’s gesture of welcoming a staffer back to work with a rose, when she returned after recovering from Covid-19, had drawn the attention of people across the country. Referring to this, AP Ranganath said that as per tradition, judges and other office-bearers would gather in Court Hall-1, to condole the death of sitting or former judges or senior counsels. Now, the chief justice has broke tradition to offer condolences en masse. It should come as solace to grieving family members, he said.
After the event, Ranganath met Home and Law and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Basavaraj Bommai and requested him to announce a package for the legal fraternity, especially advocates and women lawyers with a rural background. He also requested that compensation be paid to families of advocates who died due to the pandemic. Ranganath told TNIE that the minister had responded positively.