CUTTACK: The Orissa High Court has dismissed a petition seeking intervention for uninterrupted conduct of some of the customary rituals and festivals of Lingaraj temple associated with Kapileswar temple in Bhubaneswar.
The division bench of Chief Justice S Muralidhar and Justice RK Pattanaik said, “The prayer in the present petition for directions to ensure that the Handi Bhanga Jatra and other festivals of Lord Lingaraj Mahaprabhu are performed in accordance with customs is beyond the scope of the jurisdiction of this court as there are no judicially manageable standards to address such issues.” One Visma Narayan Nayak, convener of Ekamra Jagaran Manch organisation, had filed the petition in 2017. The court dismissed it on
Wednesday.
The associated rituals between the two temples involves the Handi Bhanga yatra when Lord Lingaraj visits Lord Kapileswar ( Kapilanath) and invites him to attend his Chandan Yatra and Sital Sasthi. The rituals are observed between March and June. But an unresolved dispute between two sects of sevayats (servitors) of the two temples has resulted in discontinuation of these customary rituals since 2015.
The dispute has persisted as the Malia sevayats of Kapileswar Temple have not allowed the Khuntia sevayats of Lingaraj temple to offer their services to Lord Kapileswar.