Jagannath Temple Reforms: Amicus Curiae To Arrive In Puri On Feb 22

Puri: Senior lawyer and former Solicitor General, Ranjit Kumar, appointed as the amicus curiae by the Supreme Court to oversee the reforms in Jagannath Temple, will arrive in Puri on February 22 on a two-day visit.

During his visit, Kumar, accompanied by senior lawyer Priya Hingorani, will hold a meeting with Shree Jagannath Temple Administration (SJTA), the Temple Managing Committee and the Daitapati Nijog on the implementation of the reform proposals of the Supreme Court, the sources said.

On the basis of the opinion of all the 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.

Meanwhile, the apex court on Wednesday heard a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) in which the petitioners alleged that most of the CCTVs installed inside the Jagannath temple premises were not working properly. Besides, they also brought to the notice of the apex court on the inconvenience faced by the devotees during the dhadi (queue) darshan.

The apex court had appointed Gopal Subramanium as the amicus curiae on June 6 last year and asked him to submit a report on the implementation of Jagannath temple reform proposals on the basis of those filed by Puri district judge and central and the state governments in consultation with the temple sevayats and research scholars of the state.

The apex court had scheduled a hearing on temple reforms on the basis of the final report to be submitted by Subramanium on November 30.

However, it deferred it to the second week of January after Subramanium, in a letter to the Supreme Court Registry on November 25, had prayed to relieve him of the responsibility due to personal reasons.