PRAYAGRAJ: Lawyers in the Allahabad High Court, protesting against the transfer of Delhi High Court judge Yashwant Verma to the court, have said their strike will continue on Friday.

Justice Verma is in the middle of a row involving the alleged discovery of wads of cash from his official Lutyen's Delhi residence after a fire incident.

The lawyers' strike has brought the judicial proceedings in the Allahabad High Court to a complete stop.

The Allahabad High Court Bar Association (AHCBA) issued a statement on Thursday, saying the strike would continue on March 28.

At an executive meeting held at around 2 pm, it was suggested that the office-bearers of all the bar associations of Uttar Pradesh would be invited to join the protest.

"We are determined to continue our strike until the Supreme Court collegium takes a firm decision on this matter and halts the transfer of Justice Verma," AHCBA secretary Vikrant Pandey told PTI Videos.

"I spoke to our association president on Wednesday evening and he informed me that the government has assured us that no decision will be made on the collegium's transfer recommendation at this time," he added.

On March 26, AHCBA president Anil Tiwari met with the Union law minister and members of the Supreme Court collegium, urging them to reconsider Justice Verma's transfer.

Meanwhile, advocates' association general secretary Ishan Dev Giri, who is also associated with the Allahabad High Court, issued a separate statement, saying the association has requested the Supreme Court to maintain a status quo on Justice Verma's transfer until the conclusion of the investigation involving the judge.

"Additionally, we have urged the chief justice of India, the chief justice of the Allahabad High Court and other judges to restore normalcy in the court in the best interests of the institution and litigants," Giri added.

Meanwhile, lawyers of the Lucknow bench of the Allahabad High Court will also abstain from judicial work on Friday.

The Oudh Bar Association had taken a decision on the issue on March 25 itself. On Thursday, it said all advocates will boycott judicial work on Friday.

In a related development, the leaders of six high court bar associations, including Tiwari, met Chief Justice of India (CJI) Sanjiv Khanna on Thursday and sought the withdrawal of the transfer recommendation.

Soon after the meeting, Tiwari said the CJI had assured them of considering the demands.

However, the CJI did not promise anything, said sources privy to the development.