Advocates threaten to go on hunger strike again

The Advocates’ Association, Bengaluru (AAB), has on Wednesday threatened that lawyers would renew their hunger strike if the Union government failed to take steps within a reasonable time to appoint persons, whose names were cleared by the Supreme Court’s collegium, for the posts of judges of the Karnataka High Court.

Pointing out that recommendations for elevation of at least eight individuals from the Bar as judges of the High Court are pending before the Union government, Senior Advocate B.V. Acharya urged the Union government to consider all the recommendations received from the High Court’s collegium and take steps for immediate appointment.

Referring to delay in elevation of a district judge to the High Court, based on a complaint filed by a woman judicial officer, Mr. Acharya said that there was no need for a fresh inquiry when the High Court had already conducted an inquiry and found that there was no truth in the allegations, and thereafter the apex court’s collegium recommended his name for elevation.

While AAB president A.P. Ranganatha alleged that the Union government is adopting a biased stand in filling up vacancies in the Karnataka HC, K.N. Putte Gowda, former president of AAB, said that litigants are suffering due to differences between the apex court collegium and the Union government over appointments.

The advocates’ fraternity in February had launched a relay hunger strike and later withdrew it after assurance from Union Minsters that the process of appointment to some vacant posts of HC judges was under way. Subsequently, five advocates were appointed as additional judges to the High Court.