Bhubaneswar: Justice Surya Kant of the Supreme Court of India today inaugurated five Regional Judicial Academies in Odisha in virtual mode in the presence of Orissa High Court Chief Justice S. Muralidhar and other judges at Odisha Judicial Academy in Cuttack.

The new Regional Judicial Academies have come up at Angul, Balasore, Sambalpur, Berhampur in Ganjam and Jeypore in Koraput.

 Justice Bidyut Ranjan Sarangi of Orissa HC delivered the welcome address. Justice Sarangi, who is also the Chairman of Odisha Judicial Academy, thanked Chief Justice S. Muralidhar for conceiving the idea of setting up of Regional Judicial Academies in the state.

“Around 300 training programmes have been conducted in the Odisha Judicial Academy in the last five years. I hope that the Regional Academies would be immensely beneficial for the judicial officers, court staff, lawyers and their clerks as well as the other stakeholders across the state,” Justice Sarangi.

Chief Justice S. Muralidhar thanked the state government for providing all possible support for the setting up of five Regional Judicial Academies in Odisha.

The Chief Justice said that the five locations for the Regional Judicial Academies were carefully chosen taking into consideration their geographical locations.

“Many ICT initiatives have been rolled out by the Orissa High Court in last two years and many such initiatives are on the cards,” he added.

In his inaugural address, Justice Surya Kant said the establishment of Regional Judicial Academies in Odisha is an example for the rest of the country.

Justice Surya Kant also highlighted the role of district judiciary in delivery of justice to the common people and expressed hope that the Regional Judicial Academies will effectively help in functioning of the district judiciary.

He also lauded the establishment of virtual courts in the districts by the Orissa High Court and called it a landmark step in ensuring access to justice.

Justice Biraja Prasanna Satapathy of Orissa HC proposed the vote of thanks.