Bangalore lawyers protest vacancies at Karnataka HC yet again, call for week-long hunger strike

Lawyers in the city have once again gone up in arms over the ever-growing judicial vacancies at the Karnataka High Court. And this time, their protests appear to have reached fever pitch..The Advocates Association of Bangalore, the Karnataka State Bar Council and many designated Senior Advocates have joined hands to make a consolidated effort towards drawing the Centre’s attention to the burgeoning vacancies at the High Court. On Monday, a week-long hunger strike was announced by the lawyers, with a view to effecting a change..And the protests have caught the attention of politicians and former judges alike. Yesterday, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and former Union Law Minister Sadananda Gowda visited the High Court premises even as senior lawyers carried out a dharna. Gowda assured the lawyers that he would forward their concerns to current Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad and Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Today, former Supreme Court judge Justice Gopala Gowda and former Prime Minister of India HD Deve Gowda made an appearance at the High Court..A host of veteran senior counsel including BV Acharya, Udaya Holla, Ashok Haranahalli, MT Nanaiah and DLN Rao also took part in the protests..The chief gripe of the lawyers is that more than 60% of the posts of the High Court are currently lying vacant. The retirement of personnel over the last couple of years has not been offset by fresh appointments, the last of which was made in February 2017. According to President of the Advocates Association of Bangalore, AP Ranganatha,.“Out of 150 appointments made to High Courts across the country in the last year, only two were for the Karnataka High Court.”.Today, a representation was sent to the Prime Minister, Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra and other members of the Supreme Court Collegium, as well as judges of the apex court elevated from the Karnataka High Court, and the Union Law Minister..Expressing their deep anguish at the state of affairs, senior members of the Bar have stated in the representation,.“As of today, there are over 3.25 lakh cases pending in Karnataka High Court. A mere glance at the enclosed roster or sitting list would show the workload on Judges; resulting in affecting the quality of disposal, on account of pressure of work load, lack of time; and if the situation continues, it results in affecting their health seriously.”.The representation goes on to state that the litigant public is suffering as a result of the delay in disposal of cases. Further, the Karnataka High Court has the lowest strength among all high courts in the country, with merely 38% of its sanctioned strength currently accounted for..This is not the first time lawyers in the state have highlighted this growing problem. In November last year, the Advocates Association had resolved to go on strike indefinitely should the vacant posts at the Karnataka High Court are not be filled by December 15, 2017..Former judges had also weighed in on the issue, with retired High Court judge AN Venugopala Gowda J filing a petition in the High Court calling for the vacancies to be filled..Karnataka State Bar Council President PP Hegde had also filed a petition in the Supreme Court last year, highlighting the difficulties faced as a result of the growing vacancies. His petition states,.“Civil appeals involving property rights, commercial transactions, litigation dealing with personal laws are languishing in the High Court for several years. Even Arbitration matters are a casualty of delays. Several criminal appeals are pending, and the right of appeal of several accused persons is being directly affected…”.That matter had come up for hearing before a Bench headed by Chief Justice Misra on November 13 last year, with the Court directing that the matter be listed after twelve weeks. As per the Supreme Court website, the matter is likely to come up for hearing on February 16..Should their demands not be addressed within a week, the lawyers’ association has resolved to call for all lawyers in the state to abstain from work for a day. They have also planned to send a delegation to meet the Prime Minister and discuss the issue..Read the representation: