Supreme Court Disposes Of Puri Srimandir Reforms Case

New Delhi: After five years and 26 hearings, the Puri Srimandir Reforms case was finally disposed of by the Supreme Court of India on Monday.

The Supreme Court dismissed Mrinalini Padhi’s appeal for improved administration of the operations of the 12th-century shrine after considering the compliance affidavit submitted by the Srimandir Committee.

“If anybody is of the opinion or view that any of the directions issued by this court are not complied with, the application should be moved to the High Court, which should monitor the implementation of the directions,” the apex court said in its ruling before disposing of the petition.

“After going through the affidavits filed by the Srimandir committee and the Odisha government, the SC decided to dispose of all the applications including the violence at the temple. The apex court even directed to move the HC if anybody wants to file any petition regarding the management of the temple,” said Supreme Court lawyer, Swetaketu Mishra.

“Other than land, Ratna Bhandar, and digitisation of Lord Jagannath’s land records, the Amicus Curiae has expressed satisfaction over the reply furnished by the State government and the Srimandir Committee,” he added.

Notably, a bench presided over by Justice Arun Mishra had given at least 25 orders, some of which included building a facility to house 60,000 pilgrims, a waste-treatment facility in Puri, and schools and institutions to promote Jagannath culture.