Cash strapped retail chain Subhiksha said on Friday hearing on the petition for merger of the company with Chennai-based Blue Green Constructions at the Madras high court has been deferred till March 27 due to the ongoing stir of the lawyers.

The Madras high court was to hear the petition on Friday, but it had to be deferred due to the ongoing boycott of courts by lawyers, Subhiksha Trading Services Ltd said.

"A hearing was scheduled for today in respect of the merger petition of our company with Blue Green Construction at the Madras high court. The matter has now been posted for March 27, 2009," it added.

"No arguments were made as there is an ongoing boycott of the Madras high court by the lawyers for the last few weeks and the boycott is still continuing," the company said.

The merger petition pertains to the purchase of 40 per cent stake in Blue Green Constructions for Rs 2 crore (Rs 20 million) by Subhiksha in 2008, followed by the retail chain's decision to merge the two entities.

The issue has come to the forefront in the past couple of months after private equity player ICICI [Get Quote] Ventures, which holds 23 per cent stake in Subhiksha, moved the Madras high court opposing the merger plan.

Subhiksha is currently undergoing a corporate debt restructuring process to make it eligible for liquidity injection of up to Rs 300 crore (Rs 3 billion). Operations in its 1,600-odd stores are at a standstill presently due to cash crunch.