“NLUO & India Justice Report’s Conference on Odisha’s Justice System: Capacity Management.”
National Law University Odisha in collaboration with India Justice Report team organised a conference dated 24th July, 2021. The conference sought to present Odisha-specific insights to the honourable custodians of the four pillars of the formal justice system i.e., judiciary, police, prisons and legal aid.
The conference witnessed the keynote address by Hon’ble Dr. Justice S. Muralidhar, Chief Justice of Orissa High Court, wherein he emphasised on the role of bar in the judicial system. The full day conference was cherished by insightful valuables by multi-disciplinary eminent. The conference was divided into two sessions in which Session 1 discussed about ‘Judiciary & Legal Aid’ and the Session 2 discussed about ‘Police and Prison’.
The first session was initiated by Ms. Maja Daruwala Chief Editor, India Justice Report who introduced the India Justice Report 2020, which was followed by the discussions of Hon'ble Mr. Justice Sangam Kumar Sahoo Judge, Orissa High Court and Hon'ble Mr. Justice Bibhu Prasad Routray Judge, Orissa High Court on the findings related to state judiciary on “India Justice Report 2020 findings on Judiciary in Odisha”. Learned lordships asserted on justice delayed being justice denied, and recommended the plausible steps that could be taken by the state judiciary in reducing pendency of the cases. The session was presented by Mr. Surya Prakash BS, Fellow and Programme Director at DAKSH and moderated by Prof. (Dr.) Yogesh Pratap Singh, Registrar, NLUO.
Furthermore, Hon'ble Mr. Justice Sanjay Kumar Mishra Judge, Orissa High Court & Chairperson - Orissa State Legal Services Authority and Ms. Madhurima Dhanuka, Programme Head, Prison Reforms Programme, CHRI discussed on findings related to legal aid on “India Justice Report 2020 Findings on Legal Aid in Odisha”. Hon'ble Justice appreciating the Indian Justice Report lauded it to be fair and comprehensive and encouraged the young students of law to venture into litigation practices and judiciary. The session was presented by - Ms. Madhurima Dhanuka, Programme Head, Prison Reforms Programme, CHRI and moderated by Dr. Kuntirani Padhan, NLUO.
The second session was initiated by Shri Abhay, IPS Director General of Police, Odisha who discussed on findings related to state police on “India Justice Report 2020 Findings on Police in Odisha.” He welcomed the initiative of Indian Justice Report, but opined that the nitty-gritties of the police system cannot be quantified by statistical numbers. The session was moderated by Ms. Eluckiaa A., NLUO.
Furthermore, Shri Santosh Kumar Upadhyay, IPS Director General of Prisons and Director of Correctional Services, Odisha discussed on findings related to prisons on “India Justice Report 2020 Findings on Prisons in Odisha.” He highlighted the issues faced in state prisons such as training, overcrowding problems, fiscal inefficiency. Additionally, he emphasised on the use of technology in solving issues faced by prison. The session was presented by Mr. Vipul Mudgal, Director, Common Cause and moderated by Ms. Nanditta Batra, NLUO.
The conference witnessed fruitful open discussions and engaged practitioners, duty holders within the system, civil society and academia to improve Odisha’s justice system. The full-day conference was concluded by Prof. Ved Kumari, VC, NLUO with a vote of thanks by Prof. (Dr.) Yogesh Pratap Singh, Registrar, NLUO.