Kerala - Thiruvananthapuram   

Lawyers, clerks boycott courts

Thiruvananthapuram: Court clerks and lawyers agitating for a permanent Bench of the High Court in the capital will decide on Tuesday whether they should continue with their indefinite boycott of courts which commenced on Monday. Thiruvananthapuram Bar Association president C.K. Sitaram said lawyers would boycott courts on Tuesday. The association general body would meet the same day and decide whether or not to continue with its present mode of agitation.

Mr. Sitaram said Varkala Radhakrishnan and Panniyan Ravindran, MPs from the district, had prompted the association to rethink on its mode of agitation given the current political situation in New Delhi. He said the United Progressive Alliance was facing a crisis and the Central government, which has to sanction the High Court Bench, was unstable.

Mr. Sitaram said lawyers and the electorate in Thiruvananthapuram, Kollam and Pathanamthitta would make the longstanding demand for a High Court Bench in the capital an election issue.

Lawyers today staged a demonstration on the district court premises, violating the standing orders of the district judge. The police prevented the striking lawyers from entering the court complex. Later, the agitators held a meeting in front of the court. Mr. Radhakrishnan and Mr. Ravindran expressed solidarity with the striking lawyers.

The strike caused inconvenience to hundreds of litigants, chiefly those seeking immediate relief, such as bail, from the district court. Bar association action council treasurer Renjith. C. Nair welcomed the gathering. Mr. Sitaram presided.

Lawyers from Nedumangadu, Varkala, Attingal and those practising at the family court, Lok Ayukta, Local-Self Tribunal and consumer forums took part in the agitation. The lawyers and court clerks had been striking without boycotting work for the past 151 days.

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