Staff stir paralyses Telangana courts

Suresh Dharur

Tribune News Service

Hyderabad, July 1

The work in courts across Telangana was paralysed with over 8,000 employees launching an indefinite strike today, demanding bifurcation of the high court and cancellation of the provisional allotment of judges between Andhra Pradesh and Telangana.

The twin issues have acquired political overtones with Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao also throwing his weight behind the agitating subordinating judges and judicial officers and even threatening to stage a dharna in New Delhi to seek justice for Telangana.

“All categories of employees in the courts across 10 districts in the state have joined the stir by holding demonstrations. This is the fight by the judicial staff to seek justice,” said B Lakshma Reddy, general secretary of the All India Judicial Employees Association.

“We demand immediate rollback of the provisional allocation list of judges between AP and Telangana. We also demand that the high court be bifurcated. The strike will continue till our demands are met,” said Reddy who along with eight other members of the association was suspended by the high court for violating the code of conduct.

During the past four days, the high court has suspended 11 judicial officers on disciplinary grounds. The legal fraternity in Telangana has been on the warpath, demanding cancellation of provisional allotment of judges on the ground that officers from AP were posted in Telangana.

The high court in Hyderabad released a tentative list of 205 judicial officers on May 3. Of this, 95 were allocated to Telangana and 110 to Andhra Pradesh. Of those allotted to Telangana, 58 belonged to AP and this was done despite the fact that AP still has 29 vacancies which were not filled.

Expressing solidarity with the agitating judicial officers, the CM wrote a letter to Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh demanding that the matter be sorted out as per provisions of the AP Reorganisation Act, 2014.

“The provisional allocation of 205 judicial officers between Telangana and AP, if finalised, would seriously affect the future prospects of judicial officers from Telangana in terms of their promotion and subsequent elevation to the high court,” Rao said in the letter.

The legal staff from across the state held a “maha dharna” at Indira park today in support of their demands.

Meanwhile, acting Chief Justice Dilip Babasaheb Bhosale and Judges of the High Court of Judicature at Hyderabad appealed to the agitating employees and judicial officials to immediately withdraw the “illegal” strike and resume duties in public interest.

A press note issued by the high court Registrar General warned if the strike was not called off immediately, it might have to consider other options to ensure that the litigants did not suffer.