Amidst demands from lawyers across the country for setting up benches in different parts of all the states, theOrissaHC has taken the pioneering step of opening virtual HCs in 10 districts and plans to provide this facility in the remaining 20 districts by the middle of this year.
The demands for high court benches at places other than its principal seat from bar associations in different states and resultant strikes had often paralysed judicial work. Recently, ugly incidents were seen at Sambalpur in western Odisha, leading to The Supreme Court directing strict action against erring advocates.
The approximate figures of filing of cases from the remaining nine districts are: Sambalpur (4,000), Ganjam (10,500), Bhadrak (5,300), Kalahandi (3,400), Bolangir (3,800), Koraput (3,200), Puri (8,200) and Rourkela at Sundargarh (3,278).