Lawyers assemble on the new civil court premises in the Hume Pipe area. Picture by Uma Shankar Dubey

Jamshedpur, Aug. 2: The scramble for seats at the Bar Association building of the new civil court in Bhuiyandih continued for the second day today.

Things took a turn for the worse when the lawyers decided not to attend the court on the first working day till the issue of seats was sorted out.

According to the seating arrangement suggested by the accommodation committee, the ground floor of the building is reserved for senior members, while the remaining two floors are for the juniors.

Only one junior can share the table on the ground floor with his senior. Hence, most of the lawyers are eyeing ground floor seats.

Despite attempts by the Jamshedpur Bar Association (JBA) to settle the matter, the rush for the seats on the ground floor persisted.

Apprehending further trouble, senior office-bearers of the JBA locked the main gate of the new building.

The lawyers tried to break open the lock in the evening.

They gheraoed the members of the accommodation committee of JBA this morning.

They also demanded arrangements for electricity and water in the new building.

Later, a delegation of lawyers met district judge R.R. Prasad and sought his intervention in solving the problem of basic amenities.

According to a senior lawyer, the district judge has assured that the court would not address any “adverse” judgment for a week. “The district judge has taken this decision in view of the lack of basic amenities for the lawyers,” he said.

The lawyers’ decision to stall court proceedings has put several litigants in a fix. Some of them were seen pursuing their counsels with files in hand while others tried to persuade their lawyers to enter the court.

Many lawyers were seen signing vakalatnamas and other important documents sitting on their scooters and motorbikes.

“We took up only critical cases today,” a lawyer said.

Police kept a close vigil on the court premises throughout the day. “We are here to thwart attempts by lawyers to encroach land on the eastern side of the building,” a police officer said.

JBA secretary Sambhu Dayal said, “We are trying to settle the dispute amicably. But no one is cooperating with us.”

When asked about the delay in settling the dispute, Dayal said: “How can we work out a solution when no one is amenable to reason? This is bound to affect the functioning of the court which is scheduled to begin officially from tomorrow.”