No judicial work took place at the country's apex court yesterday due to the countrywide blockade enforced by the AL-led 14-patry combine. Additional policemen were deployed there to forestall untoward incidents.

In an unprecedented move on Thursday, Chief Justice JR Mudassir Husain halted the proceedings of the petitions challenging the legality of the president's taking over as the chief adviser to the caretaker government.

The order came minutes before a High Court bench was to make its ruling on the petitions. It enraged a section of lawyers, leading to ransacking on the court premises.

Sammilito Ainjibi Samannay Parishad, the lawyers' wing of the 14-party alliance, yesterday declared that they will resist the pro-BNP lawmen's "attempts to close down the SC".

The pro-BNP lawyers have urged the chief justice not to open the SC until the ones responsible for Thursday's incident are brought to book.

The Parishad lawyers yesterday held a meeting at Shahid Abdul Ahad Hall and reiterated their demand for resignation of the chief justice and attorney general for issuing what they said was an unjust stay order.

Former and present SCBA leaders including Subrata Chowdhury, Ozair Farooq, Enayetur Rahim, Ali Haider Khan, KM Saifuddin, Abdul Baset Majumder, Abdul Matin Khashru, and M Amin Uddin spoke at the meeting.

"They [lawyers loyal to BNP] are out to pull the plug on the Supreme Court as we always object to misdeeds in the court," said SCBA General Secretary M Amin Uddin.

Pro-BNP Jatiyatabadi Ainjibi Forum (JIB) too held a meeting yesterday afternoon at Shahid AJM Siddique Hall and demanded punishment to the AL-backed lawyers for Thursday's vandalism.

Forum leaders said they will carry on their demonstrations for cessation of the SC activities until a contempt rule is issued against the 'culprit lawyers'.

Chaired by JAF Convener and BNP standing committee member Khandakar Mahbubuddin Ahmed, the meeting was addressed among others by Habibul Islam Bhuiyan, Aminul Islam, Shahjahan Omar, Nitai Roy Chowdhury, BNP Law Affairs Secretary Joynul Abedin, Shah Khasruzzaman and Saidur Rahman.

Meanwhile, officials of the Attorney General's Office yesterday held a meeting to protest the rampages inside the SC building.

They later held a press conference and placed demands similar to those of the pro-BNP leaders.