Chief Justice of India (CJI) Uday Umesh Lalit on Saturday inaugurated 34 paperless courts in the 30 districts of Odisha, dubbed as the first-of-its-kind initiative in the country.

The paperless courts were inaugurated at a function organised in the Odisha Judicial Academy here as part of the celebration of the 75th year of the Orissa High Court.

The CJI also released a special postal cover and cancellation cachet along with six picture postcards featuring the high court.

In his keynote address, the CJI said technological advancement has become essential for functioning of the judiciary.

Speaking about the evolution of IT in Indian judiciary, the CJI shared his experience of working as a young lawyer in the pre-IT period and the ease of work that technological advancement has brought about over the years and also highlighted the positive impact of paperless courts on the environment.

He expressed pleasure that the judicial officers in Odisha voluntarily came forward for the paperless courts. He lauded the e-initiatives of the high court.

Paperless courts are introduced to ensure a transparent and speedy justice delivery system, an easier file storage retrieval and movement system, instantaneous access to voluminous records and ease in preparation of notes at the time of argument.

Above all, this also ensures a faster mode for obtaining copies of orders and judgments and reduces wastage of millions of sheets of papers.

Justice S Talapatra thanked the e-committee for the initiative and said that before launching paperless courts in the districts, the judges have adopted paperless functioning in their benches in the high court.

The concept of paperless court has been successfully implemented in the Supreme Court and different high courts including that of Odisha.

"However, launching of paperless courts in all the districts of a state is a first in the country," an official statement said.

Cumbersome paperwork in courts is a major reason behind delay in disposal of cases, it said, adding documents, pleadings, court fees, miscellaneous petitions and memos are filed physically, and some of them in duplicate.

As the years pass, the case file accumulates with the petitions, memos, documents and their copies, citations of case laws making it increasingly difficult to organise and requires more manpower and storage space.

Due to the frequent handling of documents, they are also prone to damage and being misplaced. Moreover, the handwritten order sheets and depositions fade away with passage of time making them illegible and hard to decipher.

A paperless court, as the name suggests, is a court that functions without physical records. Judges rely on digitised court records and use technology for facilitating the court proceedings.