Odisha Governor Inaugurates Refurbished ‘Museum Of Justice’ In Cuttack

Realizing the need to preserve the rich heritage of Odisha’s legal system for the upcoming generations, the High Court had decided to establish a museum. On 12th November 2017, the ‘Orissa High Court Museum’ was established in the heritage residential building of the Chief Justice in Barabati Quila, Cuttack. It was inaugurated by the then CJI Justice Dipak Misra, in the presence of the then Chief Justice of the High Court Justice Vineet Saran.

Documents relating to the High Court’s establishment, old books and judgments, antique objects collected from various district courts and rare photographs were displayed for public view. However, after Justice Muralidhar took over as the Chief Justice of the High Court in 2021, he initiated efforts to streamline the judicial record rooms across the state, which culminated in the establishment of the Record Room Digitization Centre (RRDC).

He also conceived the idea of setting up a Centre for Judicial Archives for preservation of old records and mooted the idea of a modern museum to showcase the history of the Odisha judiciary. The preserved documents of historical value were proposed to be showcased in the museum. The idea was to transform the existing museum from a repository of antiquities into a centre for education and research.

Now, the refurbished Museum showcases the Tribal Justice System acknowledging that Scheduled Tribes constitute a considerable percentage of Odisha’s population. Hence, it was redesigned as a ‘Museum of Justice’ to make it even broader, inclusive and theme-based. Massive changes were proposed in its composition.

Delivering the keynote address, Prof. Ganeshi Lal, the Governor of Odisha applauded the initiative and said that the Museum of Justice is a matter of pride for the entire country. The Governor stressed upon the need of awareness in every action for upholding righteousness and complimented the judiciary for upholding righteousness in true sense.

Speaking on the occasion, Chief Justice Muralidhar said that history has not only been honoured but also been created through the Museum of Justice. He asserted that the Record Rooms of the High Court and District Courts containing old records dating back to 19th Century were the real trigger behind the thought to rejuvenate the High Court Museum as the Museum of Justice.

The stories of freedom fighters, famous personalities and events lay hidden in these records and the High Court decided to showcase them in the Museum of Justice and to present before the public the evolution of legal system of Odisha, he added.

The Chief Justice said that the Museum will reflect not only the legal system of Odisha but also that of the entire country because Odisha mirrors what is happening elsewhere. He expressed hope that the Museum of Justice would be a place of learning, research, co-mingling and teaching.

The first publication of the Museum of Justice, in the form of a booklet, was released in the inaugural function which contains information on the rejuvenation of the Museum.