Bhubaneswar: The Orissa High Court has directed the State Government to place the Justice Raghubir Dash Commission report on the missing key episode of the Ratna Bhandar of the 12th-century Shree Jagannath Temple in Puri before the Odisha Legislative Assembly in its ensuing session.
Hearing a public interest litigation, a Division Bench comprising Chief Justice Harish Tandon and Justice M.S. Raman observed that the report, submitted under the provisions of the Commissions of Inquiry Act, 1952, must be laid on the floor of the House without delay. The court underscored that there could be no “dormant exercise” in the matter and termed it the State’s “ordained duty” to act promptly.
The Bench also directed the government to complete, within three months, the process of reconciling the latest inventory of the Ratna Bhandar with the inventory prepared in 1978. It noted that the jewellery and valuables recorded during the 1978 inventory were found to tally with those documented by the present committee.
The Ratna Bhandar, the temple treasury, is believed to house priceless gold ornaments, rare gems, pearls, diamonds, silver articles and other decorative offerings dedicated over centuries by devotees to Lord Jagannath, Lord Balabhadra and Goddess Subhadra.
The controversy dates back to June 5, 2018, when the then Naveen Patnaik-led BJD government ordered a judicial probe following public outrage over the reported non-availability of keys to the inner chamber of the Ratna Bhandar. The Justice Raghubir Dash Commission was subsequently constituted to investigate the circumstances surrounding the missing or misplaced keys. The Commission submitted its findings to the State Government.
According to the government, the report was examined and a decision was taken to place it before the Cabinet to be formed after the June 2024 Assembly elections. However, the High Court has now made it clear that the statutory requirement of tabling the report before the Assembly must be fulfilled without further delay.
Expressing its expectation of swift compliance, the Bench stated that no complacency should be shown in finalising the inventory process or in acting upon the Commission’s findings, and voiced hope that the State would proceed with due urgency.
