Missing Key Of Ratna Bhandar: Orissa HC Extends Hearing On Commission Report

Cuttack: Orissa High Court has extended the hearing on the plea for making the Justice Raghubir Das Commission report public.

Lawyer Anup Kumar Mohapatra told the media that the High Court extended the hearing after the state government sought more time. The next hearing on the matter is scheduled in the first week of January, 2024.

The petitioner, Dilip Baral, had moved the High Court to make the Commission report on the missing key of Ratna Bhandar of Jagannath temple in Puri public.

After hearing the petition on April 25, the court had ordered the government to file the counter by July 25. But the government sought more time and the court extended the hearing to December 1. This time also, the government sought more time, the lawyer said.

The petitioner said the government had spent more than Rs 22 lakh towards the Commission to look into the missing key of the Rathan Bhandar. The Commission submitted its 324-page report to the government on November 29, 2018.

Stating that the government was sitting on the report for over 5 years, he said it should be made public in the interest of the people.