Big Relief To Odisha CM In Lord Jagannath Temple Case

Odisha chief minister Naveen Patnaik and his party Biju Janata Dal have reasons to smile as the Lord Jagannath temple issue regarding embezzlement allegations does not fall under the purview of the Supreme Court. So as of now, BJD is off the hook of the Apex Court supervision. The allegations were made by the Opposition parties — BJP and Congress — over Jagannath Ratna Bhandar donations which have not been audited since 1978. A Supreme Court lawyer handling the case explained that amicus curiae Ranjit Kumar brought to the notice of Justices M R Shah and C T Kumar of the Supreme Court that the action taken report of the Temple Management Committee is deficient in as much as the November 2019 order of the SC directing it to file the inventory of jewellery. Justice Shah in a lighter vein said “we do not want to make such a direction and invite any mishappening/misfortune on ourselves or on those appearing in the matter. It is a sacred place and we do not find any reason to pass such a direction. Essentially he said, “SC judicial determination is not required in this kind of matter”. Further Justice Shah, off the record, said that he was born on the day of Rath Yatra and “has the blessings of Lord Jagannath”. Clearly, SC implied that the temple issue is not a national issue it falls under the purview of the High Court.