In the All India Judges' Association Case (AIR 1992 SC 165) and in the order on the Review Petition (AIR 1993 SC 2493), the Supreme Court declared the urgent need to organize judicial education on a systematic basis through National and State Judicial Academies. Then, the Supreme Court in a more recent case i.e., All India Judges Association V Union of India {(2002) 4 SCC 247} laid emphasis on in-depth training for Judicial Officers.

At the turn of the century, the training programme for judicial officers was in a marginalized state due to want of proper space and infrastructure. The most helpful training at that stage was perhaps the experience a newly appointed judicial officer earned by sharing the dais along with Senior Judges to observe day-to-day proceedings in the Court. Useful as it may have been, it was training under personalized guidance without any institutional capacity building. The values which should underline the framework of training were not adequate institutionalized.

A decision was made by the Hon'ble High Court of Orissa on 30.03.2001 to establish a Judicial Academy to enhance the learning and training to be imparted to Judicial Officers in the State of Odisha. The vision was to provide a platform to Judicial Officers so that they could be enabled to strive for excellence in their endeavour to dispense justice. The decision was implemented by the State Government by establishment of a permanent Judicial Academy for Odisha at the old building of Board of Revenue, Cuttack. On 02.04.2003. It was in this background Odisha Judicial Academy came into existence on 20th December, 2003. The Odisha Judicial Academy was inaugurated on 20th December 2003 by Hon'ble Dr. Justice A.Pasayat, Judge ,Supreme Court of India, in presence of Hon'ble Shri Justice Sujit Barman Roy ,Chief Justice of Odisha,& Dr.N.R. Madhava Manon ,Director National Judicial Academy, Bhopal with the objective of imparting training to newly recruited judicial officers as well as for in-service judges and others. The inaugural function was attended by Hon'ble Judges of High Court of Orissa, District & Sessions Judge, Registrar General, High Court of Orissa, Principal Secretary Law, Govt. of Odisha and Officers from District Judiciary.

The training programme has different components like field training, aptitude orientation, development of judicial attitude and awareness of ethical conduct in addition to the strengthening of legal knowledge and reasoning. The Academy has developed customized training programme not simply for newly recruited Judicial Officers & inservice Judicial Officers but has also designed refresher programmes for other state holders like Public Prosecutors, members of Juvenile Justice Board, Police Officers, Mediators, Conciliators, Court Managers & others.

Within a decade, the Odisha Judicial Academy has been able to provide new dimensions to the training of judicial officers which earlier were unexplored. Now all judicial officers joining the Odisha Judicial Service undergo a planned and systematic training programme which is oriented to their wholesome development as judicial officers.