Puri Jagannath Temple Ratna Bhandar: HC Seeks Status Report From Odisha Govt In 3 Days

Cuttack: The Orissa High Court on Wednesday sought a status report from the state government on the issue of making public report of the Justice Raghubir Das Commission that probed the missing key of Ratna Bhandar of the Jagannath Temple at Puri.

The Odisha government had earlier sought more time from the High Court to make the report of the Inquiry Commission public.

While there has been demand from different quarters, including opposition Congress and BJP, for immediate steps by the state government to open the Ratna Bhandar of the 12th century shrine, a petition was also filed in the HC seeking direction for making the probe report public.

The HC has directed the Odisha government to submit a status report on the issue in two or three days through an affidavit. The next hearing of the case will be held after two weeks.

It may be noted here that the Odisha government is yet to make the report of the Raghubir Das Commission on the missing key public. The 324-page report was submitted by the Commission on November 29, 2018.

As per norms, the government is required to present the Commission’s report in the state Assembly. However, the report has not been made public despite growing demands from opposition parties and other organisations.

The petitioner had earlier accused the state government of adopting delaying tactics by seeking more time amid apprehensions over the safety of inventory inside Ratna Bhandar and its structure.