‘Museum Of Justice’: Some Facts About The Recently Inaugurated Judicial Museum Of Odisha

Historical Background

Before establishment of the High Court of Orissa in 1948, the Odisha province used to come under the jurisdiction of the High Court of Calcutta from 1862 to 1912 and the High Court of Patna from 1912 to 1948. The southern part of the province was within the jurisdiction of the Madras High Court.

Therefore, the repository of case records of the High Court includes the old judicial records of the three High Courts, viz. Calcutta, Patna and Madras. Some historical case records were proposed to be placed in the museum for knowledge of the general public.

Inspiration for Rejuvenation of Museum

On 12th November 2017, the ‘Orissa High Court Museum’ was established in the heritage residential building of the Chief Justice at Barabati Quila, Cuttack. It was inaugurated by the then CJI Justice Dipak Misra, in the presence of the then Chief Justice of the High Court Justice Vineet Saran.

After Justice Muralidhar took over as the Chief Justice of the High Court in 2021, he initiated efforts to streamline the judicial record rooms across the state, which culminated in the establishment of the Record Room Digitization Centre (RRDC) and the District Court Digitization Centres (DCDCs). In December last year, 10 District Court Digitization Hubs (DCDHs) were also opened.

In the process of digitization, records dating back to 19th century in the High Court and District Courts were disinterred. These records seemed to have historical importance as far as the Odisha Judiciary is concerned. This led to conception of an idea of having a project for documenting the judicial history of Odisha.

Thus, a Centre for Judicial Archives for preservation of the old records was set up and Justice Muralidhar mooted the idea of a modern museum to showcase the history of the Odisha judiciary. The preserved documents of historical value were proposed to be showcased in the museum. The idea was to transform the existing museum from a repository of antiquities into a centre for education and research.

Gathering Experiences from Institutions

To have a better understanding of the necessary protocols for the collection, storage, conservation and exhibition in a museum, Chief Justice Muralidhar, Justice Sashikanta Mishra and Dr. Lalatendu Das Mohapatra, Director-cum-Officer on Special Duty of the Centre for Judicial Archives visited the Indian Museum, the Victoria Memorial and the Police Museum in Kolkata, the Bihar and Patna Museums in Patna and the Government Museum in Chennai.

Later, Justice Mishra and Dr. Das Mohapatra also visited the National Museum, the National Archives, the Delhi State Archives at Delhi and the Asiatic Society, the Centre for Studies in Social Sciences and the West Bengal State Archives at Kolkata. A video meeting was also held with experts of the British Library, London to procure appropriate guidance from them.

Dr. Das Mohapatra also paid visits to the courts in Berhampur, Aska, Puri, Bhadrak, Balasore, Baripada, Keonjhar and Dhenkanal to locate antique objects and old records for showcasing in the museum. In the process, about 50 antique objects and a few old records were located and shortlisted.

Supervising Committee

A six judges committee headed by Justice Debabrata Dash and also comprising Justices Dr. Sanjeeb Kumar Panigrahi, Sashikanta Mishra, Mruganka Sekhar Sahoo, Biraja Prasanna Satapathy, and Sanjay Kumar Mishra took up supervision of the Record Room Digitization Centre, Centre for Judicial Archives and Museum of Justice.

Creation of the Post ‘Registrar (Records)’

It was one-of-a-kind decision by the High Court to create a separate post, i.e. Registrar (Records), who was tasked to oversee the RRDC, the Museum works and he was also given the duty to work in coordination with the Centre for Judicial Archives. Shri Abhilash Senapati, a judicial officer in the rank of District Judge was posted as the first Registrar (Records), who continues to hold the post till date.

Consultative Committee for Rendering Advices

A consultative committee comprising historians, conservation experts, an Odia language expert and a legal expert was formed to advise the High Court on the contents of the proposed Museum of Justice. On the advice of the Consultative Committee, one theme pavilion and seven galleries were decided to be set up in the Museum, apart from a library and a souvenir shop. The library contains law books and journals dating back to 18th and 19th centuries.

Theme Pavilion & Galleries

• The theme pavilion is the introductory gallery containing digital timeline of the High Court of Orissa along with picture and graphic model of the Court and its development since inception.
• Gallery-1 attempts to trace out the evolution of justice delivery system in Odisha from ancient to modern with notes, excerpts from old texts, photos, inscriptions and archival records.
• Gallery-2 depicts the freedom movement from 1804 to 1947 referring to trials and conviction of various freedom fighters from Odisha.
• Gallery-3 portrays the mode of dispensation of justice among the tribes as well as importance of tribal customary laws.
• Gallery-4 contains the glimpses of important judgements and news of the period from 1808 to 2013.
• Gallery-5 showcases the old court apparels & accessories.
• Gallery-6 exhibits the historical timeline of development of legal education in Odisha and information on prominent lawyers of Odisha alongwith classification of legal practitioners.
• Gallery-7 has a mock court room modelled on the heritage court rooms of Baripada and Aska.

In an overall, the Museum has transformed itself for adapting to the modernity while not disowning the antiquities. Further, the institution has been designed in such a manner which will highlight the rich traditions of the Odisha Judiciary and shall be invaluable for legal researchers and common people alike.