Kendrapada: A civil judge in Jagatsinghpur district stepped outside her courtroom on Monday to record testimony of a 70-year-old disabled woman who was unable to enter the court premises.The incident comes days after a judicial magistrate at Tushura in Balangir district similarly recorded the statement of a paralysed litigant outside the courtroom.Civil judge (junior division) Varsha Das of Kujang court recorded the statement of Sandhyarani Sahoo of Sandhakuda village while she remained seated in an autorickshaw parked outside the court. Born with paralysis that rendered both her legs non-functional, Sandhyarani was unable to reach the witness dock to depose in her case.Sandhyarani has approached the court seeking a declaration of the civil death of her husband, Sagar Sahoo, a former Paradip Port employee who has been missing and unheard of for more than 17 years. Such a declaration would enable her to claim family pension and other benefits.“Since she was unable to physically access the courtroom, we informed the judge. She came outside and recorded her evidence near the parked autorickshaw. The government counsel also cross-examined her there,” said Damodar Swain, counsel for Sandhyarani.Sections 107 and 108 of the Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam (earlier the Indian Evidence Act) deal with the presumption regarding whether a person who has not been heard of for seven years is alive, with civil courts empowered to decide such matters.Expressing gratitude, Sandhyarani said, “I am thankful to the judge for coming outside the courtroom to record my statement.”Swain said that while Order XXVI Rule 1 of the Code of Civil Procedure allows courts to appoint a commission to examine persons unable to attend court because of illness or infirmity, Judge Das chose to personally step out and record the testimony instead.Govt counsel Kaliprasad Muduli described the move as a significant gesture aimed at ensuring access to justice for vulnerable citizens. “The judiciary must be accessible to ordinary and marginalised people. The judge’s action reflects that spirit,” he said.