CUTTACK: The Orissa High Court has directed the state government to place the Justice Raghubir Dash Commission report on the missing keys of the inner chamber of the Ratna Bhandar of Lord Jagannath Temple at Puri before the Odisha Legislative Assembly in its ensuing Budget session.
The court also ordered completion of the exercise to tally the latest inventory of the temple’s ornaments and valuables with the 1978 inventory within three months.
The directions came while the court was hearing a PIL filed by Dillip Kumar Baral, raising concerns over the inventory of ornaments and valuables of Lord Jagannath and the repair and conservation of the Ratna Bhandars. Advocate Anup Kumar Mohapatra appeared on behalf of the petitioner. The order issued on January 27 was uploaded on February 12.
During the hearing, advocate general Pitambar Acharya submitted that the Commission’s report would be placed before the cabinet and subsequently in the Assembly. He further informed the court that verifying the inventory is a detailed process.
Recording it, the division bench of Chief Justice Harish Tandon and Justice MS Raman observed that the jewellery and valuables inventory of Lord Jagannath conducted in 1978 will serve as the benchmark to verify whether all the items listed at that time match the inventory prepared by the present committee formed by the state government.
Noting that repair and conservation work of both Ratna Bhandars has been completed by the Archaeological Survey of India, the bench stressed accountability. “There cannot be any dormant exercise in this regard and it is an ordained duty of the state to take prompt action,” it said.
The court directed that the report of the Inquiry Commission should be placed on the floor of Assembly in the ensuing session and a decision be taken thereupon. It warned that no complacency can be shown by the state government and listed the matter after three months for submission of a compliance report.
The Justice Raghubir Dash Commission constituted on June 6, 2018 to inquire into the circumstances under which the original keys went missing submitted its report to the state government on November 29, 2018. Meanwhile, both Ratna Bhandars were opened in July 2024, valuables shifted for ASI-led repairs, and later restored in September 2025. A draft SOP for fresh inventorisation, based on the 1978 record, has been approved by temple authorities and is awaiting final state approval.