CUTTACK: Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi inaugurated the country’s first Centre for Judicial Archives here in presence of Orissa High Court Chief Justice Chakradhari Sharan Singh on Saturday.
Thanking the Chief Justice and judges of Orissa High Court, Majhi said the centre’s establishment showed the collective commitment to preserving the rich legacy of the judiciary for generations to come.
“The judicial archives is an important step towards preservation of judicial documents, records and artefacts which will make the legal landscape of Odisha ever-lasting. Moreover, it will go beyond the administration of justice to become an invaluable asset for legal researchers, students and historians,” he said.
Reaffirming his commitment to reforming and improving the judiciary, Majhi said the government will continue to work towards strengthening the judicial infrastructure, implementing technology in the legal system and making justice accessible to all.
The Centre has been build at a cost of Rs 38 crore. Describing the Centre for Judicial Archives as a befitting tribute to the city of Cuttack, the judicial capital of the state of Odisha, Chief Justice Singh said, “It is truly a milestone in our journey to protect and preserve the history of legal proceedings which is essential for understanding the evolution of the legal system and development in the state.”
He said the modern judicial system in Odisha started with the administration of English East India Company in different phases in the late 18th century and early 19th century. The high court and the district courts in Odisha were therefore left with millions of invaluable records which need proper care and conservation as they do not come under the purview of Government Archival Policy Resolution 1972 and Public Records Act 1993. These records are not transferred to any government archives for their permanent preservation as a result many of these have languished in the court record rooms due to negligence and lck of proper care, he said.
“The Orissa High Court, therefore, in a historic step took the initiative for setting up a judicial archives to take care of the fragile records of the high court and district courts,” he said.
Orissa High Court’s Record Room Digitisation Centre Committee chairman Justice SK Panigrahi said the Centre for Judicial Archives has till date preserved nearly 75,000 fragile judicial records dating back prior to 1950. Of them 4,132 files comprising 84,888 sheets have undergone scientific conservation. He said the initiative emerged from the discovery of invaluable 19th and early 20th century records in the courts of Odisha written in English, Odia, Persian, Telugu, Hindi and Bengali.
“These documents are not just artefacts. They are treasures that hold the power to reconstruct the judicial and legal history of Odisha,” Justice Panigrahi added.
