Lawyers of the Orissa High Court have decided to cease work indefinitely following an assault on advocate Chinmaya Mohanty..For a long time, lawyers in Odisha have been divided on the topic of introducing a separate bench of the High Court in the western part of the state. And it was in this background that Mohanty was assaulted on January 25..Gyanranjan Mohanty, a member of the Odisha State Bar Council and the High Court Bar Association, had attended the centenary celebrations of the Bargarh District Bar Association on January 23. During that event, he had pledged his support for the setting up of a permanent bench of the High Court in western Odisha..However, this was a stance contrary to that taken by the High Court Bar Association. Miffed with these statements, the Association, in its General Body meeting held on the 25th of this month, suspended him..On the same day, persons associated with Gyanranjan Mohanty allegedly threatened Chinmaya Mohanty, also a member of the state Bar Council, and held him at gunpoint, blaming him for the suspension of the former. Following this, the police registered an FIR, but no arrests have been made so far..In light of the incident, the High Court Bar Association has been boycotting courts since last Friday, demanding the arrest of the assailants. Secretary of the Association Umesh Chandra Behura said that the boycott would go on until Thursday, February 2. On this date, the Association will take a decision on what the future course of action will be..Other bar associations in Cuttack have shown their solidarity by observing the boycott. As a result, work at various tribunals in the city has also come to a standstill..This is not the first time lawyers of the Orissa High Court have gone on boycott. Just this month, they went on strike for a day in protest of the police’s failure to arrest the killers of hotelier Chandan Kumar Behera, who is also a member of the Puri Bar Association..Last year, the Association went on strike protesting the arrest of two lawyers in connection with the Artha Tatwa chit fund scam in the state..HT @srisrioddeven
Lawyers of the Orissa High Court have decided to cease work indefinitely following an assault on advocate Chinmaya Mohanty..For a long time, lawyers in Odisha have been divided on the topic of introducing a separate bench of the High Court in the western part of the state. And it was in this background that Mohanty was assaulted on January 25..Gyanranjan Mohanty, a member of the Odisha State Bar Council and the High Court Bar Association, had attended the centenary celebrations of the Bargarh District Bar Association on January 23. During that event, he had pledged his support for the setting up of a permanent bench of the High Court in western Odisha..However, this was a stance contrary to that taken by the High Court Bar Association. Miffed with these statements, the Association, in its General Body meeting held on the 25th of this month, suspended him..On the same day, persons associated with Gyanranjan Mohanty allegedly threatened Chinmaya Mohanty, also a member of the state Bar Council, and held him at gunpoint, blaming him for the suspension of the former. Following this, the police registered an FIR, but no arrests have been made so far..In light of the incident, the High Court Bar Association has been boycotting courts since last Friday, demanding the arrest of the assailants. Secretary of the Association Umesh Chandra Behura said that the boycott would go on until Thursday, February 2. On this date, the Association will take a decision on what the future course of action will be..Other bar associations in Cuttack have shown their solidarity by observing the boycott. As a result, work at various tribunals in the city has also come to a standstill..This is not the first time lawyers of the Orissa High Court have gone on boycott. Just this month, they went on strike for a day in protest of the police’s failure to arrest the killers of hotelier Chandan Kumar Behera, who is also a member of the Puri Bar Association..Last year, the Association went on strike protesting the arrest of two lawyers in connection with the Artha Tatwa chit fund scam in the state..HT @srisrioddeven
