Chief Justice S. Muralidhar Launches A Host Of E-Services For High Court & District Courts In Orissa

During the program, Justice Muralidhar launched a 'Facilitation Centre for e-Payment of Court Fees' in the High Court complex. He also launched systems for (i) online payment of Court fees in the High Court & District Courts, (ii) e-Filing portal in 244 Court establishments across the State, (iii) Video Conferencing cabins in every District Court complex and (iv) e-Sewa Kendras in 78 Taluka Court complexes.

Addressing a gathering of more than 150 Court locations comprising District Judges, Judicial officers and lawyers working in the District and Subordinate Courts across the State of Odisha, who were joined in the ceremony through video conferencing, Justice Muralidhar emphasized upon the objectives behind launching these e-services and called upon them to embrace the new-fangled technology driven face of the State Judiciary and strive to heighten the efficiency of the State's judicial system.

The event was conducted in the presence of the High Court Computer Committee & Judges of the High Court, the Advocate General, Odisha, the President of the High Court Bar Association and Officers of the Registry,

In his address, Justice Muralidhar clarified that the facility of online payment of Court fees shall be available in the High Court of Orissa and the District Courts and that such facility shall stand extended to Taluka Courts in the coming months.

Launching the e-Filing portal created by the e-Committee of the Supreme Court of India in 244 number of Court establishments (in CIS) across all Districts of the State of Odisha, Justice Muralidhar encouraged lawyers to make best use of the e-Filing and e-Payment systems well beyond the duration of COVID-19 pandemic due to their inherent advantages although in prevailing times of social distancing these systems are expected to find much utility among the legal fraternity.

He however clarified that the system of hard copy filing shall continue till such time all stakeholders in the District judiciary get sufficiently acquainted with the paperless and digital methods of e-filing.

He pointed out that the Guidelines and User Manuals for e-Filing and e-Payment services shall be made available in Court websites so that no user faces any difficulty in availing these e- services.

Justice Muralidhar then went on to open e-Sewa Kendras in 78 outlying Court complexes across the State to serve as one stop windows for needy lawyers and litigants in accessing essential e-Courts services and explained that these e-Sewa Kendras shall be helpful for lawyers and litigants who otherwise face difficulty to use tools of technology on their own in performing their day to day works.

Reminding everyone how the ability to use video conferencing in the post Covid-19 times has become essential to the functioning of lawyers, he also inaugurated a VC cabin in each of the thirty District Court complexes across the State to make sure that Advocates and litigants practicing before such Courts shall now have a place to go to for help in participating in virtual hearings.

He concluded his inaugural address by mentioning about the recently commenced drive for digitization of case records in the High Court of Orissa. He said that nearly 1, 75, 000 case records in the High Court have already been digitized and that soon a similar drive shall be commenced in four major districts.

Justice S. Pujahari, the Chairman of the High Court Computer Committee in his address spoke about adoption of technology into the core functions of the judicial system to make the Court's processes more accessible and efficient.

He reminded everyone how technology came to the rescue of the justice delivery system preventing its wheels from coming to a grinding halt during the COVID-19 pandemic.

[Note: Currently, the Orissa High Court has reverted to functioning in the virtual mode in the wake of the fresh surge in COVID-19 cases in various parts of the country.]