CUTTACK: The legal battle over sale of plots from Bagala Dharmasala land in Puri intensified in the Orissa High Court here on Monday with BJP leader and party national spokesperson Sambit Patra pinpointing his allegations in connection with the dispute raised by him earlier in a PIL.
In a rejoinder to the State government’s counter affidavit, Patra alleged that the State authorities had illegally sold Amrutamanohi properties of Lord Jagannath “in the garb of rehabilitation and resettlement” of some persons displaced under the heritage project in Puri.
Patra said his PIL is in no way intended to come in between the development of Puri town. It is intended for protection of the land in question of Lord Jagannath Mahaprabhu, Puri under Amrutamanohi status, which the State bodies are alienating in the garb of development, he said.
In the government’s affidavit, it was claimed that “the land was acquired by the government in 1901 and by virtue of it the land lost its status of Amrutamanohi and the right, title, interest of the recorded owner Shree Jagannath Mahaprabhu marfat Bhagaban Ramanuj Das, over the land stood extinguished and the land became a government land.”
By the time the Shree Jagannath Temple Act, 1955 came into force, the land was already government land in view of the acquisition by the government and it was no more an endowment land of Shree Jagannath Mahaprabhu. Hence the provisions of Section 5 and 33 of the Jagannath Temple Act, 1955 are not applicable to the land, the government had claimed.
Appearing on behalf of Patra, senior advocate Pitambar Acharya submitted before the Court that the government had no power to execute the sale deeds as the land does not belong to the State. The Amrutamanohi property of Lord Shree Jagannath Mahaprabhu was illegally recorded in the name of Lodging House Fund Committee, Puri headed by the Collector.
Taking note of the rejoinder, the division bench of Chief Justice S Muralidhar and Justice BP Routray fixed August 9 for hearing on the matter. In his petition, Patra has sought quashing of alienation of property of Lord Jagannath Mahaprabhu and subsequent sale of land from it to six persons.
The sale of the land was illegal as the Shree Jagannath Temple Act, 1955 prohibited transfer or sale of Amrutamanohi lands. The Amrutamanohi properties in very nature of it are meant for the benefaction of pilgrims, beggars and ascetics. It is not meant for the purpose for settlement or distribution under a rehabilitation and resettlement package, he said.