The chief justice of the high court stepped in on Wednesday to get the lawyers to end their ceasework even as dissent in the ranks of the protesters grows stronger by the day.

Members of the Calcutta High Court Bar Association are on a 10-day strike from Tuesday to press for immediate filling up of 18 vacant posts of judges in the high court.

Chief Justice S.S. Nijjar met bar association president Sardar Amjad Ali and advocate-general Balai Ray in his office in the afternoon.

“The chief justice requested us to withdraw the ceasework. He also shared some crucial information with us on the appointment of judges. We will call a meeting in a couple of days to discuss the chief justice’s message,” Ali said.

In the morning, some lawyers tried to join court defying the ceasework but were not allowed to by their striking colleagues.

The lawyers later met on the court premises and resolved to join work from Friday if the bar association did not withdraw the strike by then.

“We are not supporting the manner in which the strike was called. Besides, the ceasework will not solve any problem,” said advocate Arunava Ghosh, who chaired the dissidents’ meeting.

In the evening, state bar council chairman Arun Sarkar announced that the bar association had not followed norms while calling the ceasework. “The bar association had violated rules by not informing the council of its decision to go on strike,” said Sarkar.

The chairman, however, conceded that the demand of the striking lawyers was “justified”. He also alleged that some lawyers in the high court as well as in lower courts across the state were not behaving properly with lawyers. “The council has lodged several complaints against some judges but the administration has not taken any step against the accused,” said Sarkar.