Extending support to the call made by the Bar Council of India (BCI), the Odisha State Bar Council on Wednesday called upon all the lawyers of the State to join the February 11 and 12 agitation of the lawyers in protest against what they called “indifferent” attitudes of various Governments, including that of the Central Government, towards the cause of the lawyers.
State Bar Council chairman Tahali Charan Mohanty said the lawyers of the State would submit the BCI’s five-point-charter of demands to their respective district Collectors and tehsildars on February 11 requesting them to forward the charter of demands to the Prime Minister.
Mohanty further said Cuttack and Bhubaneswar lawyers on February 12 would also submit the charter of demands to the State Governor requesting him to forward it to the Prime Minister. “We urge all the advocates of the State to participate in the February 11 and 12 agitation,” Mohanty said.
Among others, the lawyers are demanding better infrastructural facilities for courts across the country and a budgetary allocation of Rs 5,000 crore for financial protection, stipend and insurance cover for lawyers and their families. The lawyers are also demanding amendments to the Legal Services Authority Act for accommodating lawyers to head it.