The Orissa High Court from Thursday began functioning from its new building with sophisticated security arrangements where public entry has been restricted. The majestic eight-storied building built adjacent to the old court building at a cost of nearly Rs 65 crore was inaugurated in November 2012.
The new building has 23 sprawling courtrooms, including the court of the Chief Justice along with judges’ chambers. The building also houses the offices of the High Court registry. The office of the advocate general however, will continue to function from the old building.
“Entry has been restricted inside the new building where entry passes have been issued to media persons covering court news. Similarly, the court staff and the bench clerks too are given specific passes to enter the High Court,” said a court official adding that the only two clients in a case would be allowed inside the High Court, permissions for which could be obtained from their counsels. It may be mentioned here that the Orissa High Court began functioning from its old building from July 1948 and the two-storied building was proving highly inadequate for there were no sufficient courtrooms and other additional facilities.
The Orissa High Court currently has 17 judges, including Chief Justice against a sanctioned strength of 22. Having a carpet area of 1.68 lakh sq ft, the court building has only entrance and is fitted with nearly 100 CCTV cameras for security reasons, sources said.
