Cuttack: Litigants suffered as lawyers of Orissa High Court stayed away from the court on Friday as a token of protest over transfer of a judge.

Hundreds of cases, including bail pleas and anticipatory bail applications, went without hearing as proceedings remained paralysed in the high court because of absence of lawyers.

The court could not proceed with the case challenging election of BJD MLA Subrat Tarai which has been running for three years.

BJP leader Jagabandhu Behera, who had lost the Raghunathpalli Assembly seat to Tarai by a matgin of 16,041 votes in a ten-cornered contest in 2014, had filed the election petition alleging illegalities in the poll process.

Behera's counsel was to present witnesses supporting the allegations. But the court could not take it up in the absence of lawyers.

Hearing on a petition seeking intervention against inaction of police on a complaint of gang-rape also could not be also taken up.

More than six months ago, Rinarani Mallik of Sirampur in Pattamundai area of Kendrapara district had filed a petition alleging inaction on her complaint lodged at Rajnagar police station on October 24, 2016. She had followed up with a complaint to Kendrapada police superintendent on March 14, 2017. But, no action was taken,

Her petition was listed for the first time on Friday. But it also went without any hearing.

Orissa High Court Bar Association secretary Umesh Chandra Behura said: "We did not attend court as a mark of protest over transfer of a judge of our high court while there are a lot of vacancies yet to be filled up."

The association had in the post-lunch session on Thursday decided to go for the protest agitation and ceased work for the day and continue it on Friday. The lawyers are expected to resume work on Monday.

The protest followed transfer of Justice Satrughana Pujahari to Madras High Court.

With the transfer of Justice Pujahari, the number of judges in the Orissa High Court, including the chief justice, has gone down to 17.

The order issued by the ministry of law and justice (department of justice) on November 14 has directed Justice Pujahari "to assume charge of his office in the Madras High Court on or before November 28".