Ignoring the appeals of Governor E.S.L. Narasimhan and Chief Justice of India T.S. Thakur, lawyers in Telangana on Monday decided to continue their strike till their demands including bifurcation of the high court were met.
The Joint Action Committee (JAC) of advocates announced the decision after a delegation met Narasimhan, who is governor of both Telangana and Andhra Pradesh.
The governor advised the advocates to first call off the strike so that courts can resume functioning. He told the delegation that their demands could be resolved through talks.
However, the JAC leaders told media later that the strike will continue till all their demands were met.
Telangana High Court Advocates Association president G. Mohan Rao said they have decided to continue the strike.
The striking lawyers have been demanding revocation of nine judges suspended by the high court for protest over appointment of Andhra origin judges to subordinate courts in Telangana, withdrawal of orders for appointment of judges of Andhra nativity and bifurcation of high court.
The High Court of Judicature at Hyderabad has been serving as the common high court for both Telugu states for two years.
CJI Thakur had also advised the lawyers on Sunday to call off the strike when a delegation of JAC leaders had met him in Delhi to seek his intervention. They also sought recall of the high court's acting Chief Justice Dilip Bhosale. The CJI, however, asked them to first end the strike and start attending the courts so that public are not put to further inconvenience.
The lawyers had been agitating for over a month to protest allocation of Andhra origin judges to subordinate courts by the high court. The crisis deepened last week after judges joined the protest.
Taking a serious note of the rally taken out by judges to Raj Bhavan and enmass resignations submitted by them, the high court suspended nine judges and three employees of Ranga Reddy district court for indiscipline.
--IANS
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