In view of the urgency and sensitiveness over the contentious issue of climbing the chariots and touching the deities during the Rath Yatra at Puri, the Odisha High Court on Thursday issued notice to the State Government asking it to file its reply within 24 hours to a PIl which has sought the court’s intervention to resolve the impasse.
Refusing to give more time to the Government to file its reply, a Division Bench of the court comprising Chief Justice AK Goel and Justice AK Rath, ordered the Government counsels to get immediate instructions from the Government and fixed the matter’s hearing in the first hours on Friday.
Angul-based lawyer Bhabani Prasad Mishra has filed the PIl seeking the court’s direction to the Government to implement the decision of the Puri Shankaracharya, who is of the view to have a blanket ban on any person climbing the chariots and touching the deities. A similar petition had also been filed by Cuttack-based advocate Nishikant Mishra on Wednesday, and there is every possibility for a joint adjudication of both the petitions on Friday, Mishra told this correspondent. “No unauthorised person, including any devotee, Hindu or non-Hindu, has a right to climb the chariots and touch the deities. Only authorised persons associated with rituals to be performed on the chariots for performance thereof,” the Shankaracharya had suggested in November last year after he was asked by the temple management committee to resolve the issue.
Stating that on being asked to mediate and resolve the matter, the Shankaracharya had given his view after holding several meetings, seminars, consultations with religious leaders, scholars and lawyers and referring various religious texts, Mishra has stated in his petition.
The petitioner has also pointed out that as per the Record of Rights (RoR) under the Shree Jagannath Temple (Administration) Act of 1952, the Shankaracharya is the final arbiter in case of any dispute relating to rituals of the lords. “Non-implementation of the decision of Shankaracharya will cause serious hurt to the petitioner and other like-minded devotees,” Mishra has stated, adding that allowing the people to climb the chariots would risk the safety of the deities and pilgrims leading to possible terrorist acts.