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          Patna, Feb 15 (IANS) Thousands of lawyers in Bihar Tuesday   began a weeklong strike to protest against evening courts that were introduced   in the state in December last year. Bihar State Bar Council chairman Baleshwar Prasad Sharma said   nearly 80,000 lawyers have joined the strike. The lawyers, including those from   the Patna High Court, district courts and subdivisional courts, are staying away   from work. |  
  
      
	  
	  
	  "Lawyers will abstain from the court from Feb 15 to Feb 21 to protest the launch   of evening courts in Bihar," Sharma said. He said it would not be possible to   hold such courts, introduced by Patna High Court, due to lack of   infrastructure.
 An evening court each has been functional in 30 of the 38   districts in Bihar since Dec 6, 2010.
 
 Sharma said the lawyers' protest   would continue till the high court notification for running evening courts was   withdrawn.
 
 Sharma said except for Gujarat, at 10 places, including three   in Karnataka, two in Maharashtra and three in Kerala, evening courts had been   started with the consent of the respective state bar councils.
 
 In other   states, the proposal for running evening courts were withdrawn. Even in Orissa,   evening courts were closed two days ago due to protests by the bar council, he   said.
 
 
      
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