Jodhpur, Sept. 13 -- Members of the Rajasthan High Court Advocates' Association and the Rajasthan High Court Lawyers' Association abstained from court proceedings on Friday in protest against a recent social media statement made by Union minister of state for law, Arjun Ram Meghwal. The boycott affected the principal seat of the high court in Jodhpur, the Jaipur bench, as well as several subordinate courts across towns in the state. The decision followed a joint meeting of the executive bodies of both associations, held on Thursday under the chairmanship of Advocates' Association president Ratanaram Tholia and acting president of the Lawyers' Association Pintu Pareek. The meeting discussed the minister's remarks, which referred to the proposed visit of Chief Justice of India BR Gavai to Bikaner. The associations expressed concern that the minister's statement hinted at possible efforts to establish a circuit bench of the Rajasthan high court in Bikaner. Objections were raised, arguing that it would undermine the status of Jodhpur as the judicial capital of western Rajasthan. Tholia warned that if the high court is "fragmented", lawyers would launch a movement to protect the region's interests and Jodhpur as the seat of justice. htc...