Cuttack, Sept. 16: Litigants, who had their cases lined up at Orissa High Court, today had to return home disappointed.

Lawyers of the High Court Bar Association ceased work today after the Odisha Administrative Tribunal (OAT) Bar Association, Cuttack, sought their support against the government's decision to abolish the tribunal.

Association secretary Bijay Kumar Ragada said: "We abstained from court work for the day to express our support to the agitation."

With the lawyers not attending court work, most of the more than 600 listed cases could not be taken up for hearing. Over 50 bail pleas, including anticipatory bail applications, also faced the same fate. The court could not attend to several cases scheduled for hearing in the weekly list.

The case related to the recruitment for filling up of 140 posts in Ravenshaw University was one of the cases that could not be taken up. Several petitions challenged the advertisement through which the university had invited applications for the posts of professors, readers and lecturers in June 2014. The court also could not proceed with the suo motu public interest litigation proceedings that it had initiated to ensure 100 per cent enrolment of children in primary schools after taking note of a media report on August 25.

It, however, in a public interest litigation related to Ganesh Puja celebration, directed the Cuttack district administration to ensure that temporary ponds be created near the river ghats for immersion. The division bench of Justice Indrajit Mahanty and Justice S.C. Parija issued the direction for creating artificial ponds on the Mahanadi and Kathajodi river ghats after district collector Nirmal Chandra Mishra and deputy commissioner of police Sanjiv Arora appeared before it.

The court also fixed three holidays - September 20 and 27, both Sundays, and October 2 - for the immersion.

Proceedings in the lower courts were also disrupted.