The District and Sessions Court here on Wednesday stayed the order of the Civil Judge (Junior Division) Court, which had directed the local municipal authorities to remove the encroachments and construction, including the Samadhi (cremation place) of former Chief Minister Biju Patnaik, in the premises of the Swargadwar within three months.
Adjudicating an appeal filed by the municipal authorities, the District and Sessions Court directed that no action can be taken by the district administration in this regard till further order. The next hearing of the case is fixed for February 6.On January 16, the municipal authorities had moved the court challenging the lower court’s order on January 8 refusing a stay on its previous order to demolish the Samadhi.
The Civil Judge Court, in its order, had said that if the authorities failed to remove the encroachments, the job would be done at the initiative of the court. It also directed the civic authorities not to erect any structure, including memorial, pandals and statues which might change the nature, character, location or extent of the land in question other than for public cause or for effective use of it by the community.
This judgment had come on a petition filed by Puri resident Ramesh Singh in 1999 in which he alleged that the civic body illegally constructed the Samadhi at the Swargadwar the same year. Singh contended that memorial of any person cannot be built at the Swargadwar, which is a public place for cremation of deceased Hindus.