SC Orders Slew of Reforms Measures for Jagannath Temple

Bhubaneswar: In a significant development to accelerate the reform process of the Jagannath temple at Puri, the Supreme Court on Monday passed a slew of directions to Odisha Government that includes construction of shelter house 60,000 pilgrims among others.

A bench of Justices Arun Mishra and Indira Banerjee passed the interim order with as many as 22 directions to the State Government.

The apex court also directed State Government to appoint a full-time administrator for the temple to manage the administration.

The court also directed the Government to file an inventory of properties belonging to the 12th century shrine.

The bench also directed to the temple administration to ensure there should not be misbehavior with women and incidents like snatching and pick-pocketing.

The bench further asked the temple administration to ensure that all rituals shall be held according to the tradition and practices and the state govt and court will not interfere in this.