75th Anniversary of the High Court of Orissa

Formation of Bihar–Orissa Province

During colonial rule, Orissa (now Odisha) was originally part of the Bengal Province. On 22 March 1912, a new province of Bihar and Orissa was carved out, though judicial powers remained with the Calcutta High Court. This changed with the establishment of the Patna High Court on 26 February 1916, which had jurisdiction over eleven judgeships in Bihar and one in Orissa.

Early Circuit Court at Cuttack

The Letters Patent provided that judges from Patna High Court would visit Orissa on circuit to hear cases. Accordingly, the Circuit Court at Cuttack began functioning from 18 May 1916.

• An Advocate General for Orissa was appointed.
• The District and Sessions Judge of Cuttack served as Registrar of the Patna High Court in circuit.
  At the very first sitting, Madhusudan Das, Utkal Gourav and the first Advocate of Orissa, expressed hope that a permanent Bench would soon be set up at Cuttack.

Judicial Setup Before 1936

• Four districts – Cuttack, Balasore, Puri, and Angul – were under one District Judge.
• Sambalpur was under the Sambalpur-Manbhum District Judge.
  This structure continued until 1 April 1936, when Orissa became a separate province. Thereafter, two District Judges were appointed:
• Berhampur (Ganjam, Koraput, Puri)
• Cuttack (Cuttack, Balasore, Sambalpur)

Demand for a Separate High Court

With the new province came a rising demand for Orissa’s own High Court. The Cuttack Bar Association, on 26 July 1938, passed a resolution seeking the establishment of a separate High Court for Orissa.

The Committee of 1942

On 15 August 1942, the Government of Orissa formed a High Court Committee to examine the matter.

• Chairman: Sri Bira Kishore Ray (Advocate General, Odisha)
• Members: Sri Bichitrananda Das, Rai Bahadur Chintamani Acharya, Sri D.N. Narsingh Rao
• Secretary: J.E. Maher (Superintendent & Remembrancer of Legal Affairs)

The Committee submitted its report on 31 December 1943, recommending the establishment of a High Court.

Establishment of the High Court

Following acceptance of the report, the Governor of Orissa submitted an address on 3 March 1948 to the Governor General of India. Consequently, under Section 229(1) of the Government of India Act, 1935, the Orissa High Court Order, 1948 was issued, and the High Court was formally established on 26 July 1948 at Cuttack.

First Judges of the Court

The court began with four judges:

• Chief Justice Bira Kishore Ray (first Chief Justice of Orissa)
• Later succeeded by Justice Jagannadha Das, followed by Justice Lingaraj Panigrahi and Justice R.L. Narsimham in subsequent years.

Court Buildings

• Initially, the High Court functioned from a two-storied brick-red Civil Court building constructed in 1913.
• With growing needs, a new eight-storied building was planned in 2008 and completed in 2012 at a cost of ₹65 crores.
  • The building includes 25 courtrooms, Chief Justice’s courtroom, Judges’ lounge, Bar Association Hall, video conferencing hall, chambers, and parking.
  • It was inaugurated on 11 November 2012 and became functional on 2 January 2014.

The old Civil Court building is now designated a heritage building, with some offices still functioning from there.

75 Years of Justice (1948–2023)

Since its establishment in 1948, the Orissa High Court has served as the highest judicial authority of the state. In 2022–23, it celebrated its 75th year of establishment, marking a significant milestone in the legal history of Odisha.

Commemorative Stamp

To honour this occasion, the Department of Posts issued a Commemorative Postage Stamp celebrating the 75th year of the High Court of Orissa and its contribution to justice, governance, and the aspirations of the Odia people.