"Neither Lawyers Nor Judges Can Afford Not To Be Familiar With Technological Changes": Odisha CJ Muralidhar Envisions Paperless Courts At Every Level

He was speaking at a function held at the Odisha Judicial Academy on Friday to release the Annual Report of Orissa High Court, 2021 and to inaugurate the District Judges Conference. He said,

"Slowly that (the trend of paperless Courts) will grow. I want the Bar to get adapted to the paperless regime. The best way to introduce them is to encourage e-filing. We had continuous training of the Bar. They were trained by judicial officers who are master-trainers. Likewise, we have taken the trend to District Bars, and this is not a one-time exercise. We have the whole calendar; we were training the Bar (throughout the year). We are very keen that this knowledge that we have should be shared and we should spread it. This is the only way forward. More and more transactions are becoming electronic. We are communicating more and more through WhatsApp chats or chats or through mobile phones. Those have become major source of evidence in all our cases, whether civil of criminal. So, neither judges nor lawyers can afford to not be familiar with the technological changes that are around us and impacting the society directly."

While releasing the Annual Report, he said that the judiciary of Odisha has improved tremendously. Despite the pandemic, the disposal rate was much higher than the previous year. He conveyed the gathering that despite having numerous vacancies till October, the Court delivered 938 numbers of reportable judgments and disposed more than 1,05,000 cases in 2021. He further said that though the number is encouraging, still it is not the best.

"If somebody asks me if this is the best the Odisha judiciary can do, I will definitely say 'no'. It is definitely a good performance and certainly not the best performance. We still have to improve our performance to become better and then the best. At least, we are in the right direction. I think of ourselves as gardeners, a whole set of gardeners. Seeds have been planted by those who held these offices earlier. They nurtured those plants; it bore them fruits. We have to take care of those very plants. Some of us have 'green fingers'…When you come and sit in an office, you try to improve the performance of that office. That's the best we can do. We all are the birds of passage; the institution is permanent. The institution has to grow. So, we do a little bit to make the institution grow."

While explaining the objective behind publication of the report, he said,

"At least two or three pages of the report are devoted to the data of each district. The idea is to set a template for the future. If we can replicate this year after year, it will be a wonderful service to the nation and to the people of Odisha. The Odias will get to know what their judiciary is doing, how responsible is their judiciary, is it answering their calls for justice and how hard the judges are working. People don't know how hard the judges work."

The Chief Justice particularly highlighted a chapter in the report named "Introspection and Challenges". He said, it was deliberately included in the report so as to remind the judges that they cannot be 'complacent'. There was an urge to document what the judiciary is doing. It is to remind the judiciary as to what it is capable of doing and most importantly, what needs to be done.

He then highlighted the initiative taken by the High Court to establish Record Room Digitisation Centre (RRDC) which is charged with the responsibility to digitalise the Court records, especially the old and fragile records. Notably, the same was inaugurated in September last year by Justice D.Y. Chandrachud, Judge, Supreme Court of India and the Chairman of E-Committee of the Apex Court.

Addressing to the District Judges and Chief Judicial Magistrates of the State, he urged them to participate actively in the discussion and to share the ideas and suggestions they have for the improvement of judiciary. He said that ideas can come from any direction, from anyone and from any age-group. He also stressed upon the 'personality development' of judicial officers in the State.

The event witnessed the presence of many dignitaries, including the sitting as well as former judges of the High Court.

The video of the entire session can be availed here: https://youtu.be/vULgcaGuc7M