Telangana judges on mass leave bunk off courts, CM takes up issue with Governor
Hyderabad: Around 200 judges from Telangana, who are on a mass leave in protest against suspension of 11 judicial officers amid ongoing stir over the provisional allocation of judicial officers from Andhra Pradesh to Telangana courts, did not attend work on Wednesday.
"Around 200 judges who had gone on mass leave yesterday did not attend courts protesting suspension of 11 judicial officers...the protest is going on," a member of the Telangana Judges Association said.
Meanwhile, amid ongoing stir, Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao called upon Governor ESL Narasimhan here. Though there was no official word on the meeting immediately, it is understood that the ongoing row figured in the talks.
The High Court of Judicature at Hyderabad has so far suspended 11 judicial officers on disciplinary grounds following the agitation against the provisional allocation of judicial officers.
Protesting the action of High Court, about 200 judicial officers working in lower courts across the state had decided to go on "mass" leave for 15-days from yesterday.
The suspension of 11 judges came close on the heels of over 100 judges under the banner of 'Telangana Judges Association' taking out a procession here on Sunday in protest against the allotment of judges who are natives of AP to the subordinate courts in Telangana.
Meanwhile, agitating members of Telangana Advocates Joint Action Committee continued their protests outside court premises in different parts of the state today, raising slogans and holding demonstrations seeking withdrawal of the list of provisional allocation.
"Police, who put up barricades on roads leading to High Court, took around 40 members of the JAC into preventive custody when they marched towards the High Court as part of 'High Court Bandh' call," ACP (Charminar Division) K Ashok Chakrawarthy said.
On Tuesday, Rao had urged the Centre to expedite the process of division of the high court here (in the wake of bifurcation of undivided AP).
In a letter to Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh, he requested appropriate notification to take up the exercise of allocating judicial officers and staff be issued only after the high courts of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh start functioning separately.
He said in the letter that the tentative allocation of subordinate judicial officers has created a discontent among the judicial officers and advocate community belonging to Telangana as many officers of Andhra Pradesh were allocated to Telangana.
TRS MP K Kavitha, daughter of Rao, said yesterday that her father proposes to hold a dharna in Delhi against the alleged insensitivity of Centre in bifurcating the HC, though they don't want things to "escalate to that level".
Union Law Minister D V Sadandanda Gowda had said that the Centre has no role in creation of a new High Court for Telangana, rubbishing the ruling TRS' charge that the Narendra Modi dispensation is being "insensitive" on the issue and dragging the matter under political pressure.
Holding that the state government's stand on the issue is "unacceptable and intolerable," Gowda said the creation of a new HC is in the hands of the Chief Minister and Chief Justice of the common high court for Andhra Pradesh and Telangana.
Meanwhile, the TDP's Telangana unit demanded Narasimhan to use his good offices to see that the matter is resolved amicably.
Advocates and judicial employees across Telangana have been protesting since June 6 against the provisional allocation. On Sunday, over 100 judges had submitted a representation to the governor on the issue.
Telangana Advocates JAC had claimed that out of the 21 judges at the Hyderabad High Court, 18 are natives of Andhra Pradesh and only three are from Telangana.
They are seeking preparation of a fresh list of allocation between the two states as per the native district declared by the judicial officers at the time of their entry into service based on the guidelines on bifurcation of lower judiciary and under AP Reorganisation Act.
