Bhubaneswar: Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi today inaugurated the Centre for Judicial Archives in Odisha’s Cuttack city.

The state government in association with the Orissa High Court has set up the Centre for Judicial Archives to preserve many valuable legal documents of the state.

Orissa High Court Chief Justice Chakradhari Sharan Singh, other judges, Law Minister Prithiviraj Harichandan and Advocate General Pitambar Acharya were present during the inauguration of the centre.  

The Centre for Judicial Archives has been set up at CDA Sector-1 with an expenditure of Rs 38 crore.

It will play a key role in preserving the fragile judicial records of the High Court and districts courts in Odisha.

The foundation for the centre had been laid on January 28, 2023. The centre has so far preserved around 75,000 judicial records.

Delivering the keynote address, the Chief Minister said that Indian Judiciary has brought laurels in international sphere. The state government is committed to providing all assistance including financial, administrative and technological for the Centre for Judicial Archives, he said.

The Chief Justice of Orissa High Court delivered the inaugural address. “Many old legal documents of Odisha will be preserved at the centre. Legal luminaries, lawyers, researchers and students can access the centre,” he said.

It worth mentioning here that Odisha province was within the jurisdiction of the High Court of Calcutta from 1862 to 1912 and the High Court of Patna from 1912 to 1948 before the establishment of the High Court of Orissa in 1948. The southern part of the province was within the jurisdiction of the Madras High Court.

Therefore, the repository of case records of the High Court of Orissa includes the old judicial records of the three High Courts: Calcutta, Patna and Madras. They also include records belonging to erstwhile High Courts of the princely states.