HC Notice To Odisha Govt Over Missing Ratna Bhandar Key Of Puri Jagannath Temple

Cuttack: The Orissa High Court on Tuesday issued a notice to the state government over the missing key of the Ratna Bhandar of Shree Jagannath Temple in Puri and sought a reply from it.

The High Court issued notice to the Chief Secretary and Law Secretary while hearing a petition filed by Puri-based social worker Dillip Baral seeking direction to make the report of Justice Raghubir Das Commission of Inquiry public.

While asking the state government to submit its response on the matter, the HC fixed July 10 for next hearing.

The petitioner has contended that though the Justice Raghubir Das Commission submitted its report on Ratna Bhandar key in November 2018, its findings are yet to be made public.

As per the law, when a commission submits its report, it is the responsibility of the government to table the findings in the state Assembly along with a memorandum. However, the state government is yet to take any step in this direction, it was stated.

The disappearance of the Ratna Bhandar key had created a lot of confusion among the people besides hurting the sentiments of devotees all over.

While seeking steps to make the Commission report public, the petitioner also prayed to the court to allow the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) to examine and undertake necessary repair work of Ratna Bhandar.

Notably in June 2018, the Odisha government had formed the commission of inquiry headed by Justice Raghubir Das, a retired judge of Orissa High Court, to probe the disappearance of the Ratna Bhandar key of Jagannath Temple following public outcry over the issue across the state and triggered a political storm. The probe was to focus on the circumstances in which the Ratna Bhandar keys had gone missing.