Telangana stir: Judges on mass leave bunk courts

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, today did not attend work.

"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 told PTI.

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 told PTI.

Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao yesterday wrote to Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh urging the Centre to expedite the process of division of the present high court here, saying the provisional allocation of judicial officers has created a discontent among them and lawyers belonging to the state.

He requested that 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.

Advocates and judicial employees across Telangana had been protesting since June 6 against the provisional allocation through the 'Bar Association of High Court and all districts of Telangana state', along with the Telangana Advocates JAC, Telangana Judges Association, State Judicial Employees Association and Telangana Law Officers Association.