Overview
- A Home Department notification creates an Additional District and Sessions Judge court with statewide jurisdiction, seated at Paralakhemundi, to handle Azad’s cases.
- The special court will not hear cases registered under the POCSO Act for now.
- The decision follows a March Supreme Court direction to consider special courts to expedite long-pending matters.
- Azad has been in custody since 2011 with about 37 criminal cases pending across jurisdictions and at least ten acquittals recorded.
- The order takes effect when the court begins functioning, with cases linked to the 2006 R. Udaygiri jail attack and 2008 Nayagarh and Kandhamal incidents among those to be tried.