Members of the Sambalpur District Bar Association (SDBA) on Tuesday decided to continue their strike for establishment of a High Court Bench here each Wednesday despite the direction of the Supreme Court to agitating lawyers not to stop work or do similar types of activities. The apex court has cautioned that failure to comply with its order would result in cancellation or suspension of their licences.
SDBA president Sureswar Mishra said, "We have been fighting for a public cause. We are not afraid of the Supreme Court’s warning. If required, we will surrender our licences. If the Supreme Court suspends licence of a single lawyer of Sambalpur, 1600 lawyers of our bar association will surrender their licences at a time."
The SDBA also condemned the order of the Bar Council of India and the State Bar Council to suspend the executive body of SDBA and took a decision not to accept it. “The Bar Council of India and the State Bar Council don’t have the right to suspend a democratically-elected body,” said Mishra.