The Orissa High Court has preserved around 1,000 old case records, majority of them in Persian manuscripts dating back to 19th century under a ‘Judicial History Project and the Centre for Judicial Archives’ project.
“The old case records of Orissa High Court include judicial records of three other high courts at Calcutta, Patna and Madras and the erstwhile High Courts of the princely states. There are records which date back to the 19th century. Such records provide valuable insights into the functioning of the judiciary during those times and contain the treasure trove of historical information”, the high court registry said.
The old and fragile records are being preserved by scientific method by experts in conservation work and after preservation the records are being digitised. Most of such records contain Persian manuscripts which are proposed to be translated by a Persian scholar. So far, 9,537 records have been catalogued, 768 records preserved and 201 records consisting of 3,755 sheets have been digitised, it said.
Judicial history of Odisha is being documented by making the records available to the researchers and scholars. However, the records require preservation by the latest scientific techniques before research.
Simultaneously, revamping of the museum of the High Court in Cuttack was mooted for showcasing the heritage and history of the judiciary in Odisha.
The chief justice wrote to the chief minister on 25 March, 2022 for support of the state government in establishment of a Centre for judicial archives, revamping of the Museum of Justice and Financial, Infrastructural and Personnel Support for the judicial history project in general. The chief minister assured support of the state government in the project.
By a notification, dated 1 May, 2022 of the Home Department, government of Odisha, the Centre for judicial archives of Odisha was set up. The Centre has undertaken the cataloguing and archiving of the fragile records of the high court till 1950.
Besides, the scientific preservation, upkeep, cataloguing and digitisation of those fragile records is being undertaken at the Centre, the HC registry added.