Hyderabad: Around 8,000 employees working in various courts and judicial departments across Telangana went on an indefinite strike on Friday to express solidarity with agitating judges in the state, crippling court work and leaving litigants helpless.
Acting Chief Justice (Dilip Babasaheb Bhosale) and Judges of the High Court of Judicature at Hyderabad made an appeal to agitating employees and judicial officials to immediately withdraw the "illegal" strike and agitation and resume duties in public interest.
A release issued by the High Court Registrar General also warned that if the strike is not stopped immediately, it may have to consider other options to ensure that the litigants do not suffer.
The employees are seeking withdrawal of the list of provisional allocation of judicial officers between Andhra Pradesh and Telangana and High Court bifurcation, among other demands.
All India Judicial Employees Association General Secretary B Lakshma Reddy said the employees in all the 10 districts held demonstrations. "We demand immediate roll back of the provisional allocation list of judges between Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. We also demand that the High Court should be bifurcated. The strike will go on until our demands are met," Reddy said.
Reddy and eight other principal members of the association were placed under suspension by the High Court yesterday for allegedly violating the code of conduct. "The acting Chief Justice and companion judges of the high court of judicature at Hyderabad, once again, make an appeal to all Judicial Officers and judicial employees to withdraw their illegal agitation/strike and start functioning immediately in the larger interest of litigating public, more particularly in the state of Telangana.”
"If that does not happen, the High Court, in the larger interest of litigant public in both the states who look to the judiciary with the hope of getting timely justice, may have to consider other options to ensure that the litigant public do not suffer," the High Court release said.
The High Court has suspended 11 judicial officers on disciplinary grounds during the past four days.
Around 200 judges from Telangana are on a mass leave in protest against suspension of the 11 judicial officers amid the ongoing stir over the provisional allocation of judicial officers from Andhra Pradesh to Telangana courts.
Reddy said their demands include revoking the suspension orders on 11 judges and filling up vacant posts in various courts.
Meanwhile, the Telangana legal fraternity today held a 'maha dharna' at Indira Park seeking immediate bifurcation of the existing High Court, recall of provisional list of allocation pertaining to judicial officers and revocation of the suspensions.
The High Court also made an appeal to the advocates at large to withdraw their strike and start attending courts leaving it to the High Court to deal with all issues/demands in accordance with law and as per due procedure.
