The Supreme Court on Wednesday appointed former Solicitor General of India Ranjit Kumar as the new Amicus Curiae to oversee the various reform measures at the Jagannath Temple in Puri. Hearing a PIL filed by Cuttack-based lawyer Mrinalini Padhi, a three-member Bench of the apex court comprising Justices AK Shikri, MA Shah and Abdul Nazir appointed the new Amicus Curiae. The appointment was necessitated after former Solicitor General Gopal Subramanium stepped down from the post as Amicus Curiae on November 30 due to certain unavoidable personal reasons. Notably, the Supreme Court in July last year had directed the Shree Jagannath Temple Administration to implement 12 proposals as part of disciplinary reforms following allegations of exploitation of devotees by servitors and mismanagement at the 12th-century shrine.