Amicus Curiae To Discuss Jagannath Temple Reforms With Gajapati & SJTA Today

Puri: Senior lawyer and former solicitor general Ranjit Kumar, appointed by the Supreme Court as amicus curiae to oversee reforms at the Jagannath Temple, will on Saturday hold discussions with sevayats, the Gajapati Maharaja and the temple administration.

Kumar, who arrived in Bhubaneswar on Friday night, went to the Jagannath Temple here on Saturday morning to have a darshan of the Lords.

Chief administrator of the Shree Jagannath Temple Administration, Pradipta Mahapatra, said the amicus curiae will hold a meeting with Gajapati Maharaja Dibyasingh Deb at 10.30am and with the district judge at 11.30am. This will be followed by a meeting with administration officials and senior law department officers and then with the Chhattisa Nijog at 3pm. “We have proposed the amicus curiae for a meeting with the Jagannath Temple Managing Committee,” Mahapatra said.

On the basis of the opinion of all parties, he will prepare a comprehensive report and submit it to the apex court. The court, after examining the report, will hear the case on February 27.

Prior to the amicus curiae’s visit, his assistant and senior Supreme Court lawyer Priya Hingorani had arrived in Puri on February 20 and held a meeting with the temple administration and Chhattisa Nijog on the apex court’s 12-point reforms proposals.