CUTTACK: The Orissa High Court on Wednesday fixed August 7 as the date for hearing of senior BJP leader Samir Mohanty’s petition seeking direction for opening of the inner Ratna Bhandar of Shree Jagannath Temple in Puri.
Senior advocate Pitambar Acharya, appearing on Mohanty’s behalf pressed for direction for an inventory of the gold ornaments and jewelleries along with other valuables in the inner Ratna Bhandar and necessary repair work inside it. But the court wanted to consider the plea along with the replies of the authorities concerned.
Accordingly, the division bench of Justice Subashis Talapatra and Justice Savitri Ratho issued notices returnable by August 7 to the chairman of the managing committee of Shree Jagannath Temple and chief administrator of Shree Jagannath Temple Administration (SJTA).
The bench also issued a notice to the director general of the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI). In his petition Mohanty alleged the state government has not been preparing the latest inventory with respect to the ornaments and valuables kept in inner Ratna Bhandar and not undertaking the necessary repair work in spite of its dilapidated condition.
He sought the court’s direction to constitute a high-powered committee under the chairmanship of the Governor of Odisha or a sitting judge of the Orissa High Court to supervise the preparation of the inventory of the ornaments and jewelleries of Lord Jagannath. The last inventory was made in 1978.
The petitioner has also sought a probe by the Central Bureau of Investigation into the missing keys of Shri Ratna Bhandar and to fix individual responsibility for such loss.