The Hindu : Tamil Nadu / Chennai News : Madras High Court advocates to go on indefinite strike

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Thursday, Sep 29, 2005

Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu - Chennai

Madras High Court advocates to go on indefinite strike

Special Correspondent

Protest against non-filling of judges vacancies intensifies

The Madras High Court (file picture). — Photo: K. Pichumani

CHENNAI: Members of the Madras High Court Advocates Association will begin an indefinite strike from Thursday to highlight "the grave crisis arising out of the non-filling of over 50 per cent of the vacancies for the posts of judges in the Madras High Court, despite the Supreme Court Collegium having cleared 17 appointments."

N.G.R. Prasad, president of an extraordinary general body meeting of the association: "The delay in filling the vacancies has... affected the public and has added to the delay in disposal of cases. We call for immediate appointment to all 17 vacancies... "

In a statement, he said: "We also request all other Bar Associations in the State, including the Madras Bar Association, the Law Association, the Women Lawyers' Association and the Bar Federation of Tamil Nadu and Pondicherry to support the boycott by abstaining from courts and participating in the agitation programme."

But association president S. Prabakaran announced "an indefinite boycott of courts and all judicial forums from October 3 [to press] for appointment of judges to the Madras High Court."

In a separate release, he pointed to the association's struggle to get judges appointed to the court.

After a series of protests and appeals, the association had now decided to go on an indefinite boycott, he noted.

Asked about the parallel statements, Mr. Prasad said: "Under the rules, we called for an emergency extraordinary general body meeting of the association and reviewed the situation.

A resolution was adopted to go on an indefinite strike from September 29, which we have communicated to the media."

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