Introduction

• Patna High Court was established on 3 February 1916.
• The Patna High Court started its work in 1916 with the Chief Justice and six puisne Judges.
• The circuit bench of the Patna High Court at Ranchi was separated and become Jharkhand High Court in 2000 under the Bihar Reorganization Act, 2000.

What is the Historical Background of Patna High Court?

• On 22^nd March 1912 a proclamation was made by the Governor-General of India.
• From this proclamation, the status of a separate province was given to Bihar and Orissa.
• On 09^th February 1916 the Patna High Court was ushered into existence by Letters Patent and on 26th February 1916 all the matters relating with Civil, Criminal, Admiralty, Matrimonial, Testamentary and Intestate, Enrolment, etc. given to Patna High Court.
• The first Chief Justice of this High Court was Sir Edward Maynard Des Champs Chamier.
• The building of Patna High Court was completed and opened by the Viceroy Sir Charles Hardinge on 03^rd February 1916.
• The Patna High Court exercised jurisdiction over the territories of Bihar and Orissa.
• In 1948 a separate High Court was created for Orissa.
• A circuit bench at Ranchi was constituted in 1972.
• On 15^th November 2000 a state of Jharkhand came into existence and a separate High Court was constituted as Jharkhand High Court.

Which District Court Comes under Jurisdiction of Jharkhand High Court?

What is the Strength of Judges in Jharkhand High Court?

• The total strength is 53 judges including the Chief Justice.
• Currently there are 36 judges including the Chief Justice.
• For the first time the number of judges in Patna High Court has crossed 35 after the separation of Jharkhand (Year 2000).

What is Patna High Court Legal Service Committee?

• The legal aid committee was constituted by the Patna High Court in 1991.
• The main objective of this committee is to provide legal assistance to every poor person in Bihar.
• The lawyers are selected by the committee for this purpose, and they provide assistance to needy people with their cases.
• The Lok Adalat are also organized by the committee on yearly basis in which number of cases is resolved.
• NGOs are engaged by the committee to spread legal awareness and for different committees.
• The committee plays an important role in reducing the court’s burden and helps people in reaching court to get justice for free of cost.
• As per the directions of National Legal Service Authority (NALSA), the weaker and labor sections are the priority for the committee.

What is Juvenile Justice Monitoring Committee, Patna High Court?

• A juvenile justice monitoring committee was constituted by the Chief Justice of Patna High Court in 2008.
• This committee's main aim is to effectively implement the provision of Juvenile Justice Act, 2000 (JJ Act) and the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, 2012 (POCSO Act).
• The committee was formed to monitor the conditions and functions of remand homes established under Juvenile Justice Act, 2000.
• The followings are the main objective of this committee:
  • Ensure the establishment of institutions or authorities described under JJ Act and POCSO Act.
  • Evaluate the report from the district judges on a quarterly basis.
  • Ensure the disbursement of victim compensation funds to the victims.
  • Ensure the submission of reports related to social audits of Integrated Child Protection Scheme (ICPS) and Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS) on a yearly basis.
  • Supervision of childcare institutions.
  • Ensure the basic needs of the child like nutritional, educational, mental, psychological etc.
  • Ensure legal intervention to the children and rehabilitation.
  • Monitor the establishment of child friendly courts and vulnerable witness courts in each district.
  • Frame policy and rules and seek implementation of the same.
  • Conduct programmes, seminars and courses for the police officials, prosecutors, judicial officers etc.
  • Monitor adoptions process under the JJ Act.

Digitalization in Patna High Court

• Hearing cases through Studio Based Video Conference was started on 19th March 2020, and the Patna High Court was the first High Court to hear cases through video conference.
• E-Sewa Kendra
  • E-Seva Kendra was established at Patna High Court in March 2021.
  • Handling inquiries related to case-status, next date of hearing etc. and facilitate online applications.
  • Establishing seva kendras in many district courts contributes to time saving, eliminating extensive travel, and reducing costs.
• E-Pass for Advocates
  • E-Pass for the entry of advocates has also started during Covid-19.
  • The same has been synchronized with the Cause List Data so that necessary stakeholders can generate the e-Passes.
• Live streaming
  • The court proceedings streamed live on YouTube daily.
  • The live streaming of court proceedings was started in March 2021.