Appoints amicus curie to help court
Basing on newspaper reports that large tracts of land belonging to lord Jagannath Trust are either being encroached upon or sold to influential persons at throwaway prices, the Odisha High Court has decided to take up the matter suo motu.
Expressing concern over the developments, Chief Justice AK Goel on Thursday appointed Senior Advocate Jayant Das as amicus curie to assist the court in deciding the matter.
Reports said more than 100 acres of land belonging to the trust in the Jatni area of Khordha district have been sold to influential persons at throwaway prices in connivance with unscrupulous Government officials.
While the reports indicated that more such unethical deals have also taken place elsewhere in the State, the Chief Justice has taken up the matter very seriously and is determined to get to the roots of the menace.
Even as the HC took up the matter without being prompted by any other party, some lawyers present in the courtroom on the day informed the CJ that they have also filed petitions in this regard. The CJ then asked the interested parties to share their documents with the amicus curie thereby, indicating that the Court is likely to have a joint hearing on the crucial issue.
It may be mentioned that the present Chief Administrator of Jagannath Temple Arabinda Padhee while officiating as the Revenue Divisional Commissioner (RDC) had initiated steps to evict the encroachments from the lord’s land. It was during these evictions, Padhee stumbled upon the illegal land deals involving land mafias, tainted Government officials and certain influential persons.