CUTTACK: The Orissa High Court on Monday fixed December 2 for hearing the PIL seeking CBI probe into the alleged missing of nearly 3.7 kg of gold ornaments received as gifts and donations for Puri Jagannath temple.
The court fixed the date after the petitioner in the case filed a rejoinder to Sri Jagannath Temple Administration’s (SJTA) counter affidavit.
BJP State vice-president Samir Mohanty had filed the PIL alleging that there was no record of 3.7 kg gold ornaments of the 18.62 kg gold and 116 kg of silver ornaments received as donation and gift for the temple.
They were kept in the Nazir Khana instead of Ratna Bhandar (Temple Treasury) and later they were kept in the SBI locker.
Subsequently, the SJTA had filed a counter affidavit questioning the maintainability of the PIL while claiming that the 3.7 kg of gold ornaments alleged to be missing had been utilised.
The rejoinder said the Jagannath Temple Foundation Committee is the custodian of the ornaments received from devotees and the Chief Minister is the chairman of the committee.
The utilisation of the gold ornaments warranted approval of the committee and there had been no meeting of the panel in the past 19 years.
Hence, the purported utilisation amounted to misappropriation, the petitioner countered.
The division bench of Chief Justice K S Jhaveri and Justice K R Mohapatra posted the matter to December 2 for hearing along with the SJTA counter affidavit and the petitioner’s rejoinder to it.