The two suspended Daita servitors of the Jagannath temple in Puri will not be able to perform their annual services (Seva Puja) on chariots during the Rath Yatra on Saturday as the Odisha High Court refused to grant them any interim relief on Friday.A single-judge Bench of Justice Dr AK Rath, however, completed the hearing over the pleas of the suspended servitors and reserved the verdict saying, “No interim order over the issue at this stage is necessary.”
The Shree Jagannath Temple Administration (SJTA) has placed Kasinath Dasmohapatra and his son Jaykrushna under suspension since June 24 after holding them responsible for the disturbances and delay in the Bramh transfer of the deities on June 15-16.Seeking to quash the suspension order on grounds of illegality, the father-son duo in two separate petitions had approached the High Court. On Friday, their counsel pleaded that the services they provide to the lords during the Rath Yatra are hereditary and the temple administration cannot take away their rights.