Over 2,000 agitating advocates on Tuesday brought the functioning of the Gujarat High Court to a grinding halt as the Gujarat High Court Advocates' Association (GHCAA) observed a day-long strike over the lackadaisical approach of the Centre in appointment of judges to the state's top court. However, the high court is grappling with an acute shortage of judges, with only 27 judges in position as against the sanctioned strength of 52 judges, especially when the high court administration is hell-bent on bringing down the huge backlog of cases pegged at around 1.14 lakh. Earlier, the bar association had also written to PM Narendra Modi and law minister Ravi Shankar Prasad requesting the Centre to immediately notify the four names recommended by the SC committee for elevation as high court judges. The association had also threatened to go on a strike, if the appointments were not made. However, the Centre only notified the name of Vishnukumar Patel, a judicial officer, for elevation as a high court judge on Friday. It is yet to notify the names of three advocates—Bhargav Karia, Megha Jani, and Sangeeta Vishen—for their elevation as high court judges. Interestingly, the SC committee headed by Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi had cleared the four names together on December 5, 2018. It also directed the Centre to process the recommendations for issuance of official notification, but in vain. However, a few lawyers, including a senior advocate, defied the strike and argued their case in the court. "We went on a day-long strike to mark our protest against the Centre's lackadaisical approach in appointment of judges to Gujarat HC. The Centre is supposed to clear the names recommended by the SC committee. Just clearing one of the recommendations, while not clearing the other names is not going to help," Yatin Oza, president of GHCAA, said.

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