Resentment is brewing among judicial officers undergoing induction training at the Odisha Judicial Academy (OJA) here for having been directed to pay Rs250 per day as ‘user fee’ retrospectively for the entire training period. At least 52 judicial officers are currently undergoing fortnight-long induction training that would continue till May 15.
“As per the decision of a four-member committee of High Court judges, the user fee is collected from the judicial officers,” informed an official of the OJA here, admitting that such fees are collected from the trainees for the first time by the academy that was set up in the year 2003.
Sources said no judicial academy in the country levy user fee on trainee judicial officers on account of accommodation during the training period although, some academies charge money towards food. “Since the user fee decision has been taken by the judges’ panel, the reason behind it is not known,” the official said.
The academy has independent budget provision from the Odisha High Court, which comes under the administrative control of the State Home Department. The academy had its own building constructed here at Markat Nagar in the year 2006 at a cost of nearly Rs21 crore granted under the 13th Finance Commission.
Sources said the 13th Financial Commission had also granted Rs8.32 crore towards training of judicial officers for which the previous batches of trainee judicial officers did not pay any user fee during the induction training.
Since the State Government has not yet received any grant from the 14th Financial Commission for capacity building of State judiciary, the State Governments across the country have been asked to use the additional fiscal space provided to them in the tax devolution to meet such requirements, sources said.
Sources further said that judicial academies in the States like Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh and Bihar are receiving the requisite funds from their respective State Governments for the purpose and, hence, it has been suggested that the Odisha Government follow suit. Civil society members have voiced their concern on the problems of judicial recruits.