Cuttack: The Odisha government will place the report of the judicial commission that probed Puri Jagannath Temple’s Ratna Bhandar key issue before the state Cabinet.
Advocate General Pitambar Acharya informed the Orissa High Court on Monday that the commission of inquiry had submitted the report to the state government in 2018. However, the previous government sat silent on it. The present government has decided to place the report before the Cabinet. said senior lawyer Anup Mohapatra.
Notably, the controversy pertaining to Ratna Bhandar keys began when Puri district authorities failed to locate the inner chamber keys during a 2018 inspection ordered by the Orissa High Court.
A judicial commission led by Justice Raghubir Das later found duplicate keys mysteriously appeared in the district record room two months after their disappearance, raising questions about temple administration accountability.
The High Court was also apprised that the Ratna Bhandar inventory has not been done since it was last conducted in 1978.
The HC was informed that a committee was constituted under the chairmanship of Justice (retd) B N Rath. Under the committee’s supervision, the Ratna Bhandar valuables and ornaments have been shifted to a temporary strongroom, but inventory was yet to be made.
The ASI also filed an affidavit before the High Court, apprising it that the Ratna Bhandar repair work is expected to be completed by Snana Purnima, although no specific date has been mentioned.
The matter has been posted for the next hearing on May 15.
