Cuttack: The Orissa High Court on Tuesday asked the Shree Jagannath Temple Administration (SJTA) to open the Jagmohan for the devotees by April 16.
A division bench headed by Chief Justice Vineet Saran asked the Niti Prasasak Pradip Das who had filed the affidavit on behalf of the SJTA and the district administration to open the Jagmohan for the darshan of the devotees by April 16.
The Court had summoned the Niti Prasasak to appear in person after summarily rejecting the SJTA’s plea to keep the Jagamohan closed till August 1 following which temple chief administrator (ritual), Pradeep Das appeared before the bench personally.
The court while directing the SJTA and the Puri district administration to inform about the action taken in response to its directive, fixed its next hearing on April 19.
Earlier in the day, the Court had summarily rejected the affidavit filed by the SJTA seeking permission for opening of the Jagmohan after August 1 and asked the Niti Prasasak of the temple to appear in person later in the day.
The court in its earlier hearing on April 5 had asked the SJTA to file a separate affidavit specifying the exact date for opening of the Jagmohan.
The court had wanted to know as to why the SJTA has failed to mention a specific date for the opening of Jagamohan while the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) has completed it repair since a month.
Acting on the directive of the court, Niti Prasasak of the Shri Jagannath temple, Pradip Das had filed the affidavit before the court on behalf of the SJTA on Tuesday.
However, taking strong exception to the plea made by the SJTA in the affidavit seeking opening of the Jagmohan after August 1 while citing a series of rituals along with the ensuing Rath Yatra, the court outright rejected the affidavit.
Seeking explanation from the SJTA for its reluctance in the opening of the Jagmohan for the devotees although its repair has been completed by the ASI, the court asked the Niti Prasasak to appear before it in person in the afternoon and furnish a reply to this effect.
