In a parliamentary democracy, the higher judiciary is the guardian of the Constitution. After formation of the independent province of Odisha on 1st April 1936, it was considered desirable to have its own High Court in the state. The Odisha Assembly on 3rd. March, 1948, presented a Memorandum to the Governor-General of India and a separate High Court was established in Cuttack on 26th July, 1948, in the present premises which was earlier the building of the Civil Court. The first Chief Justice of Odisha High Court was Late Justice Bira Kishore Ray. The sanctioned strength of Judges of the High Court is 22.
