Giving an undertaking in the form of an affidavit, the project director of the proposed Jagannath Temple of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (Iskcon) on Monday told the Orissa High Court that since the project is in an approval stage, no construction work is now being undertaken at the site.
Following the affidavit, a Division Bench of the High Court headed by Chief Justice Vineet Saran questioned the locus standi of the project director and asked the petitioner of the writ appeal to implead the authorities of the Islcon in the matter. Posting the matter to be heard again next month, the court asked all the respondents in the writ appeal to file their counters within four weeks.
Challenging the Puri-Konark Development Authority’s (PKDA) order restraining it from going ahead with the work of the proposed temple, the Iskcon had approached the court to quash the PKDA order. Justice Kumari Sanju Panda on February 24 had rejected the appeal of the Iskcon and asked it to present its case before the PKDA as per the latter’s show-cause notice. However, not satisfied with the order of the single-judge Bench, the Iskcon approached the court again in the writ appeal seeking larger Bench adjudication to quash the order of February 24.
The Iskcon is planning to construct the temple in an area of over 18 acres at Baliapanda of Puri at an estimated cost of Rs 100 crore.
The PKDA in January had issued a ‘stop work’ order to the Iskcon in the wake of massive public resentment over the proposed temple, which is being referred to as the second Jagannath Temple in Puri. But instead of presenting its case before the PKDA, the Iskcon first approached the High Court and subsequently filed a writ appeal.