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Cuttack: 5/7/23:The Orissa High Court today issued notices to four persons, including Gajapati Maharaja Divyasingha Deva, while hearing a petition filed by BJP leader Samir Mohanty who has sought judicial intervention for opening of the inner Ratna Bhandar of the Shree Jagannath Temple in Puri.
The notices have been served to four respondents– Srimandir Managing Committee Chairman Divyasingha Deva, Shree Jagannath Temple Administration’s Chief Administrator Ranjan Kumar Das, DG of Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) and its superintendent.The next hearing of the petition will be held on August 7.
Mohanty had filed a public interest litigation (PIL) in the High Court seeking direction for inventory of all the valuables inside the Ratna Bhandar and repair work of the treasury.
He also sought directive for constitution of a high-power committee under the chairmanship of the Governor of Odisha or a sitting judge of the Orissa High Court to supervise preparation of the inventory.
Mohanty further sought a probe by the CBI into the missing keys of the Ratna Bhandar.
“We argued in the court that as the State Government has found the duplicate key of the Ratna Bhandar, there should be no restriction in opening the treasury using the same. Secondly, the inventory of the Ratna Bhandar hasn’t been carried out since 1978. We prayed before the court for carrying out the inventory to ensure safety and security of the valuables,” said Pitambar Acharya, the petitioner’s lawyer.
