The courts of the Chief Justice and other judges of the Odisha High Court began functioning from its new building on Thursday 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 had been inaugurated more than 14 months ago.
The new building has 23 sprawling courtrooms, including that 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 will, however, continue to function from the old building.
“Entry has been restricted in the new building where entry passes have been issued to mediapersons covering court news. Similarly, the court staff and the Bench clerks too are given specific passes to enter inside the court,” said a court official, adding that the only two clients in a case would be allowed inside the building, permissions for which could be obtained from their counsels.
It may be mentioned that the High Court began functioning from its old building from July 1948 and the two-storied building was proving highly inadequate as there were no sufficient courtrooms and additional facilities.
The High Court currently has 17 judges, including the Chief Justice, against a sanctioned strength of 22. Having a carpet area of 1.68 lakh sqft, the new court building has a single entrance and is fitted with nearly 100 CCTV cameras for security reasons, sources said.