New Delhi/Bhubaneswar: The Supreme Court on Monday postponed the hearing on the progress on compliance of its directives related to the Puri Jagannath Temple to April 8 as the Amicus Curiae Ranjit Kumar has sought more time to go through the status report filed by Jagannath Temple Managing Committee.
It is worth mentioning here that the apex court had on November 4, 2019, issued 25 directives to the state government to improve the state of affairs at the shrine while hearing a petition filed by Mrinalini Padhi, a lawyer from Cuttack, for its protection, preservation and effective administration.
On March 29, a two-judge bench comprising Justices MR Shah and CT Ravikumar had asked the Odisha government to furnish a compliance report in four weeks. In its order, the bench wrote, “As of today, we are not aware which conditions have been complied with and which have not.” The next hearing of the case was posted on May 1.
At the same time, the Supreme Court rejected the state government’s plea to extend the time limit for the appointment of a full-time chief administrator for SJTA till December 2023.
Stating that obstruction of daily rituals by servitors is unpardonable, the court directed the SJTA to initiate stringent action against those responsible. It also directed the temple administration to set up a school for the children of servitors.
Accordingly, the SJTA submitted a 33-page affidavit with details on the appointment of a full-time chief administrator, authority to an IAS officer to monitor daily rituals and festivals, opening of Gurukula Sevashram, and land and property of Lord Jagannath.
Meanwhile, Odisha Advocate General Ashok Kumar Parija on Monday submitted a report on the appointment of 2007-batch IAS officer Ranjan Kumar Das as the Chief Administrator of Shree Jagannath Temple Administration (SJTA).
