Virtual Courts Set Up In 10 More Odisha Districts In 2nd Phase

Cuttack: Following encouraging results from 10 virtual courts set up in the 1st phase, the Orissa High Court has made the provision in 10 more districts across Odisha in the 2nd phase.

Chief Justice S Muralidhar of the High Court inaugurated the new virtual courts in the districts of Angul, Dhenkanal, Jagatsinghpur, Jajpur, Keonjhar, Kendrapada, Kandhamal at Phulbani, Maurbhanj at Baripada, Nayagarh and Sundargarh. Justice Subhasis Talapatra, Chairman of the IT & AI Committee, Judges of the High Court, Advocate General of Odisha, judicial officers, government officials and advocates of 10 districts were present.

Speaking on the occasion the Chief Justice said setting up virtual courts in the districts was mainly to improve access to justice for the people of Odisha. “Apart from enabling the district court lawyers to take part in filing and hearing of cases, the virtual courts will reduce costs to the litigants, increase efficiency and ensure speedy justice,” he said.

“The virtual courts will accelerate the adaptation of technology in the judiciary in the country and Odisha is leading the way in a wide range of transformative steps in the Indian judiciary. The High Court’s vision is that all the courts in the state would function in paperless mode and help in ensuring quality justice to the people,” he added.

It may be noted that the High Court of Orissa had established virtual courts in 10 districts in the 1st phase on February 3. While the cases filed from those places constituted 54% of the total pendency in High Court, the volume of filing from the 10 districts, where the virtual courts were established in second phase, constituted 34% of the total pendency.