In what is being hailed as a first for the nation, Chief Justice of India (CJI) Uday Umesh Lalit inaugurated 34 paperless courts on Saturday in the 30 districts of Odisha.
The paperless courts were launched at a celebration for the Orissa High Court’s 75th anniversary held at the Odisha Judicial Academy in this city.
Six image postcards portraying the high court were also made available by the CJI, complete with a special postal cover and cancellation cachet.
The Chief Justice of India stated that technology development has become crucial for the judiciary’s operation in his keynote speech.
The Chief Justice of India (CJI) spoke about the development of IT in Indian judiciary. He shared his experience working as a young lawyer prior to the advent of IT, discussed the ease of work that technological advancement has brought about over time, and emphasised the favourable environmental effects of paperless courts.
He expressed happiness that the judges in Odisha volunteered to support the paperless courts. He praised the high court’s e-initiatives.
In order to ensure a transparent and quick justice delivery system, an easier file storage retrieval and movement system, immediate access to massive documents, and ease in note-taking during argument, paperless courts have been established.
Above all, this guarantees a quicker method for receiving copies of orders and judgments and lowers the amount of paper that is wasted, saving millions of sheets.
Justice S. Talapatra praised the e-committee for the initiative and stated that judges at the high court had adopted paperless functioning before launching paperless courts in the districts.
The Supreme Court and many high courts, including that of Odisha, have effectively adopted the idea of a paperless court.
However, the introduction of paperless courts in every district of a state is a first for the nation, according to an official statement.
It said that the physical filing of documents, pleadings, court fees, various petitions, and memos—some of them in duplicate—is a significant factor in the delay in the resolution of cases.
As the years go by, the case file fills up with petitions, memos, papers and copies of those documents, citations of case laws, and other items, making it harder to organise and requiring additional staff and storage space.
Documents are frequently handled, which makes them vulnerable to harm and loss. Additionally, over time, the handwritten order sheets and depositions become unreadable and difficult to read.
As the name implies, a paperless court is one that operates without keeping physical records. Judges employ technology to speed up court procedures and rely on digitalized court records.
Prasanta Patnaik 
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