The crisis in the Odisha State Bar Council (OSBC) took a turn for the worse on Thursday when its chairman Manas Ranjan Mohapatra refused to convene a meeting of the council to take up the no-confidence motion brought against him and another by a majority of members of the council.
Soon after the chairman’s decision, the disgruntled members authorised the council’s vice-chairman Debadatta Mishra to convene an extraordinary council meeting to take up the no-confidence motion against Mohapatra and Bar Council of India representative Devi Prasanna Dhal and take further action as per the rules of the council.
Speaking to mediapersons here, Mishra said he would soon convene a meeting to take up the no-trust motion against Mohapatra and Dhal. He refuted the allegations made by Mohapatra that law Minister Arun Sahoo is interfering in the affairs of the council.
“We have no knowledge about the law Minister attempting to politicise the lawyers’ community or interfering in the affairs of the Bar Council,” Mishra and other members, who have brought the no-confidence motion, said in unison.
At least 15 members of the 25-member council are claiming that the chairman has lost confidence of the council and he should honourably relinquish the post paving way for fresh election to find his replacement.