Cuttack, Nov. 13: Litigants suffered in Orissa High Court as lawyers ceased work today in protest against the murder of their colleague in Boudh.
Lower courts in several districts, too, did not function properly as the lawyers there expressed their solidarity with the deceased.
Unidentified criminals axed to death advocate Hemanta Sahoo at Bahiri village in the Bausuni police station limits in Boudh district on November 10. Sahoo, a BJP leader and convenor of the party's Boudh district legal cell, had gone for a morning walk when he was attacked. He died on the spot.
High Court Bar Association secretary Bijay Kumar Ragada said: "We observed the protest day after receiving a request letter from the Boudh Civil and Criminal Bar Association."
With the lawyers staying away from proceedings, many cases listed before various benches could not be taken up for hearing. Over 200 bail pleas, including anticipatory bail applications, also faced the same fate. The court also could not attend to several cases scheduled for hearing in the weekly list.
In a resolution passed yesterday, the association had demanded "a fair, proper and impartial investigation by an independent agency" and "immediate arrest of the culprits".
However, police today arrested three persons for their alleged involvement in Sahoo's murder. Boudh police said two of the arrested persons - Duryodhana Sahoo and his mother Kunti Sahoo - were arrested from Raikia in the district. Another accused Uma Sahoo was held from Rishibandh village in the Manamunda police station limits.
Among the sufferers were the students of the Sardar Rajas Medical College at Jaring in Kalahandi. The court could not proceed further with their batch of petitions.
The college with 100 MBBS seats had earlier enrolled 124 students in two batches for the 2013-14 and 2014-15 sessions with the permission of the Medical Council of India. However, the council cancelled its permission in 2014-15, citing infrastructural and faculty deficiencies.
On November 3, the court had asked the secretary of the Union ministry of health and family welfare to convene a meeting with representatives of the state government and the council on November 9 or earlier and grant the necessary approval for relocation of the students in three private medical colleges in the state.
The central government's assistant solicitor general was to file an affidavit today indicating the decision taken at the meeting.
The court also could not proceed further with the Nationalist Lawyers' Forum's petition on delay in compliance of the conditions, which the high court, in its February 27, 2012 order, imposed on the India Oil Corporation for drawing water from the Mahanadi in Cuttack for its refinery-cum-petrochemicals project in Paradip. The court was to take stock of status on implementation of the order.
However, the court issued a stay order on the notice issued by the Board of Revenue which required IAS officer Taradatt to appear before its court in connection with his own land at Chandrasekharpur in Bhubaneswar or face legal action.
The division bench of Indrajit Mahanty and Justice D.P. Choudhury allowed the stay order after Taradatt appeared in person in connection with the petition he had filed challenging the notice.
The board had issued the notice on November 9 asking the IAS officer and 52 others to appear before its court on November 27. The 4.5 acres, which was allegedly fraudulently recorded in favour of Utsab Sahu after change of its kisam (category), had been purchased by 53 private persons, including Taradatt.
The general administration department has filed a petition before the Board of Revenue court seeking restoration of the government land.
