Now, Orissa High Court lawyers on strike over shortage of judges

Taking a leaf out of the book of lawyers in Karnataka, members of the Orissa High Court Bar Association have resolved to go on strike, in protest of the growing vacancies at the High Court..In a General Body meeting held yesterday, a resolution was passed to launch a week-long strike from 2 PM yesterday to February 19. Two more meetings are slated to take place on February 16 and 19 to decide the future course of action..Speaking to Bar & Bench, Orissa High Court Bar Association President and Senior Advocate Srikanta Kumar Nayak said,.“We are facing an acute shortage of judges, vacancies are not being filled up. For the present, we will conduct the strike up to 19th. On 19th, there will be a meeting where we decide what to do.”.The Orissa High Court presently has a strength of 16 judges, as against a sanctioned strength of 27 judges. The number of vacancies will increase to 13 later this year, after two more judges retire in June and July. New additional judges were last appointed to the High Court back in 2015..Nayak also pointed out the effect the shortage of judges is having on the dispensation of justice..“Most of the cases are not being heard; they do not reach the High Court for months together. Of course, there are various reasons [for delay], but the main reason is shortage of benches. If 11 judges are not there, how to dispose of matters?”.Last week, Bangalore lawyers ended their hunger strike held to protest the vacancies at the Karnataka High Court, after the Central government cleared the appointment of five new judges. However, unlike the case in Karnataka, the process of appointment is yet to be initiated in Orissa, with the High Court Collegium yet to make recommendations to the senior most judges of the Supreme Court.