The Orissa High Court has issued a significant directive for the immediate commencement of a detailed inventory of the priceless jewels and valuables stored for centuries within the Ratna Bhandar (treasury) of the Puri Jagannath Temple. This order comes in the wake of the completion of conservation work on the treasury chambers by the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI).
Court's Directive on Safeguarding Treasures
A two-judge bench comprising Chief Justice Harish Tandon and Justice M S Raman made this observation while hearing a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) concerning the protection of the iconic temple. The bench emphasized that with the ASI's restoration work finished, creating an inventory of the contents of the Ratna Bhandar has become an imperative task.
The court noted that the PIL's primary concern extends beyond the temple's physical structure to include the safeguarding and accounting of jewellery, ornaments, and other valuable articles offered to Lord Jagannath over hundreds of years. The bench underscored the necessity to ascertain both the quantity and quality of these historic items.
Conservation Completed, Process to Begin
Taking on record an affidavit from the superintending archaeologist of ASI's Puri circle, the bench acknowledged that the conservation work of the treasury's two chambers was fully completed. Possession was formally handed over to the Shree Jagannath Temple Administration (SJTA) on July 6.
During the hearing on December 23, the bench stated, "Since the committee has already been constituted for making an inventory, we, therefore, request the committee to activate the process." It expressed hope that both the state government and the SJTA would provide full cooperation and assistance to the high-level committee tasked with this enormous responsibility.
Next Steps and Historical Context
The PIL, filed by Puri resident Dillip Kumar Baral and represented by advocate Anup Kumar Mohapatra, has been listed for its next hearing on January 27, 2024. The state has been directed to present a report on the progress made in implementing the court's orders by that date.
In the interim, the committee has prepared an 11-page draft Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) for the inventory exercise, released on December 27. This draft SOP will first be placed before the temple's managing committee for clearance, after which it will be sent to the government for final approval. Official sources indicate that the timeline for starting and completing the inventory will be finalized only after the SOP receives the green light.
This upcoming inventory is a historic event, as the last official accounting of the Ratna Bhandar's valuables was conducted way back in 1978. The court's intervention aims to ensure a transparent, systematic, and secure process for documenting the temple's legendary wealth for future generations.
