Nabakalebar petition: HC notice to SJTA

Bhubaneswar: The Orissa High Court today served notices to chief secretary G.C. Pati and Srimandir chief administrator Suresh Mohapatra on a petition urging not to politicise the ritual mismanagement relating to Nabakalebar.

In his writ petition, Aswini Nayak has mentioned that several political parties in the State have tried to politicise the issue which erupted from ghat paribartan (transfer of souls) of the deities. The whole episode has hurt the religious sentiment of lakhs of people, it stated.

Meanwhile, the HC today reserved its verdict on the suspension of daitapatis (servitors) after hearing the petition filed by Kasinath Dasmahapatra and his son Jayakrushna.

The HC also refused to grant them any interim relief.

Justice Dr A K Rath, however, completed the hearing of the pleas of the suspended servitors and reserved the verdict.

The bench said "no interim order over the issue at this stage is necessary."

The father son duo had moved the HC after being suspended by Sri Jagannath Temple Administration (SJTA) for creating disturbance during the ‘Brahma Parivartan’ ceremony on June 15.

Yesterday, adjudicating the case the HC had ordered the SJTA to submit the record of rights (RoR) in connection with the matter. Moreover, while taking up the case, the High Court had also directed the SJTA to record statements of other daitapatis in this connection.

Last month, the temple’s chief administrator Suresh Chandra Mohapatra holding the servitors responsible for the mismanagement in rituals had said the daitapatis were withdrawn from ‘daita seva’ for an indefinite period by invoking Section 21(B) of the Shri Jagannath Temple Act, 1954.

“Based on the statement of daitapatis, we came to the conclusion that these two were mainly responsible for the delay,” the chief administrator said.