The court reiterated the importance of maintaining access to justice and the necessity of disciplinary action against obstructive conduct by legal practitioners.

1. Two affidavits have been filed before us.

2. The first affidavit is filed by the Registrar General of the High Court of Odisha in respect of the steps taken for providing virtual access which would obviate the need for any Benches. There are 30 district Courts functioning in the State of Odisha and the status report qua computerization to facilitate the functioning in the District Courts and Taluka Courts has been enclosed. The details of equipments which have been purchased have been set out. The e - Filing Version 3.0 stands implemented from 02.04.2022 and a total of 4382 Advocates have registered on the e - Filing Portal of this Version and 11290 cases have been filed through e - Filing Portal in the District Courts. Virtual court rooms have been established in the various districts and proceedings are being conducted as per Odisha High Court Video Conferencing For Court's Rules, 2020 which would facilitate a witness to appear in any Court including the High Court of Odisha from any district of the State or from any remote area in accordance with the Standard Operating Procedure (SOP). Technical persons have been appointed. The High Court of Odisha is functioning on hybrid mode and links are published. Hands on training for judicial officers, Advocates and Advocates' clerks are being conducted. That should have taken care of the needs of access to justice.

3. There is, however, something more to it!

4. The conduct of the Advocates as reflected in the supplementary affidavit filed by the High Court leaves us with little doubt that there are many so - called Advocates enrolled at the Bar whose bread and butter is obviously not this profession. After the order was passed by us on 14.11.2022, the same was circulated to all the Bar Associations through their respective District Judges. Despite our observations, agitation and picketing etc. continued.

5. The matter deteriorated to a stage where the District Judge, Khurda at Bhubaneswar received reports about violent obstruction to the judicial officers, staff and litigants by members of the Bhubaneswar Bar Association restraining them in entering court building on 25.11.2022. In fact, after receiving reliable information, the District Judge had sought for police protection for judicial officers, staff and litigants. 300/400 Advocates obstructed them when staff and officers reached there and police personnel reached at about 11 a.m. But even under police protection, the Bar members prevented access by violently obstructing them. The District Judge also reported that no prior information was given to him by the Bar Association regarding such picketing on 25.11.2022.

6. It is, however, averred that the District Judge, Koraput, Jeypore enclosed the extract of the resolution District Bar Association, Jeypore dated 24/25.11.2022 indicating the decision to withdraw their earlier resolution for strike dated 23.06.2022.

7. There is then an additional affidavit of the Registrar stating that several Bar Associations of State of Odisha continue to abstain from work and have indulged in boycott, picketing etc. during the month of October, 2022 and also in November, 2022. The judicial work in least 20 districts continued to be hampered in the month of October, 2022 and 3216 cumulative judicial working hours have been lost.

8. The District Judge, Sambalpur intimated that members of the District Bar Association, Sambalpur staged a picketing on demand of establishment of the permanent Bench of Odisha in Western Odisha and even refused to attend a meeting called by the District Judge.

9. A similar approach has been adopted by the Baramba Bar Association as per the District Judge,