SC Concerned Over Exploitation of Pilgrims in Jagannath Temple

Supreme Court orders installation of CCTV cameras and a committee to overlook the management of the temple.

The Supreme Court has ordered installation of CCTV cameras and setting up of a committee to overlook management of Jagannath Temple in Puri to prevent the exploitation of devotees. 

(Photo: Jagannath Temple website)

The Supreme Court of India on Friday, 8 June, ordered a series of directives to prevent exploitation of pilgrims and devotees and proper management of the Lord Jagannath Temple in Puri, Odisha, reported The Times of India.

Along with an order to install close circuit television (CCTV) cameras, the apex court also ordered the Odisha government to set up a committee, as followed by other religious shrines like Vaishno Devi and the Golden Temple, to overlook management practices and administrative affairs.

On 5 June, The Hindu reported that the keys to the Jagannath Temple treasury, known as the ‘Ratna Bhandar’, were missing. Taking cognisance, Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik ordered a judicial inquiry into the matter.

Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan took a jibe at Patnaik over the inquiry, asking him if the commission possessed a “magic wand.” The commission was trying “to make a fool of Odia people,” he added.

According to Deccan Herald, the decision of the vacation bench of the Supreme Court comprising Justices Adarsh K Goel and Ashok Bhushan said, “The issue affected tourism, culture and society.” The bench maintained that offerings made to the temple by devotees should not be misused but used for “people’s welfare.”

Every year, thousands of devotees throng the Puri Jagannath temple to seek the blessings of Lord Jagannath during the famous Ratha Yatra.

(With inputs from The Hindu, Times of India and Deccan Herald)