The Orissa High Court on Wednesday issued notices to four persons, including Gajapati Maharaja Dibyasingha Deb, while hearing a petition filed by BJP leader Samir Mohanty who has sought judicial intervention for opening of the inner Ratna Bhandar of the Shree Jagannath Temple in Puri.
The notices have been served to four respondents, Srimandir Managing Committee Chairman Dibyasingha Deb, Shree Jagannath Temple Administration’s Chief Administrator Ranjan Kumar Das abd the DG of Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) and its Superintendent.
The next hearing of the petition will be held on August 7.
Mohanty has filed a PIL in the High Court seeking its direction for inventory of all the valuables in the Ratna Bhandar and repair work of the treasury.
He has also sought a directive for constitution of a high-power committee under the chairmanship of the Governor of Odisha or a sitting judge of the Orissa High Court to supervise preparation of the inventory.
Mohanty has further sought a probe by the CBI into the missing keys of the Ratna Bhandar.
the petitioner’s lawyer Pitambar Acharya said, “We argued in the court that as the State Government has found the duplicate key of the Ratna Bhandar, there should be no restriction in opening the treasury using the same. Secondly, the inventory of the Ratna Bhandar hasn’t been carried out since 1978. We prayed before the court for carrying out the inventory to ensure safety and security of the valuables.”