Patna high court lawyers to abstain from work till February 17

PATNA: The coordination committee of the three advocates’ associations of Patna high court has decided to abstain from court proceedings till February 17. The high court functioning was largely affected on Monday also as the lawyers continued their protest against the new system of listing of cases.
The chairman of coordination committee of the advocates’ associations, Yogesh Chandra Verma, said they decided to abstain from professional duty till February 17 in the absence of any positive response from the high court administration.
The main demands of the agitating lawyers included restoration of old system of listing of cases and alternative arrangements for filing of cases till they become acquainted with online system. They alleged that young lawyers were facing great hardship due to new system of listing of cases.
“We had no problem with the old system of listing of cases. But the introduction of the new system has made things worse for many young lawyers,” said Verma. Around 10,000 high court lawyers have abstained from the court proceedings since Thursday, he said.
Verma said three resolutions were passed at the coordination committee meeting on Monday. The committee has urged the judges to withdraw suo motu the orders passed by them in some cases in the larger interest of the litigants. He said a copy of the resolutions would be forwarded to the chief justice and other judges of the high court.