PIL in Calcutta HC challenges govt funding, operations of Digha Jagannath shrine
Calcutta high court
BHUBANESWAR: Amid
growing tensions between Odisha and West Bengal
over the use of '
Jagannath Dham
' name for the newly consecrated Digha temple, a
PIL
has been filed in the
Calcutta high court
challenging the project's funding and operation mechanisms.
Advocate Koustav Bagchi's petition, admitted by the division bench of Justices Soumen Sen and Smita Das De, challenges the constitutional validity of govt funding for a religious structure under India's secular framework.
The PIL seeks an independent inquiry into why the trust is being allowed to operate from Hidco's office. The petitioner requested the court to direct Hidco and the temple trust to file a report disclosing the true nature and character of Jagannath Dham Sanskriti Kendra/Jagannath Dham Digha and explain the legal basis for the trust's operations from Hidco premises.
The petitioner has sought clarity on how the temple trust is accepting donations under Section 80G of the Income Tax Act while operating from the office of Hidco, a public sector undertaking.
Questions have been raised about the use of govt funds for constructing what was initially tendered as a 'Sanskrit Kendra', but is now functioning as a temple complex.
The PIL has challenged the recruitment of 100 civic volunteers for traffic and crowd management at the Digha temple and sought to quash the recruitment notice issued by the SP of East Midnapore. It questions whether the Bengal govt can legally deploy civic volunteers at what appears to be a private trust property without proper requisition or consent.
by Taboola
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While Odisha law minister Prithiviraj Harichandan has said the govt would take legal action, if required, to ensure 'Dham' is dropped from the Digha shrine name, legal experts suggested the state has strong grounds for legal recourse because of the cultural and religious significance of Lord Jagannath, with the centuries-old Puri temple being long revered as the original 'Jagannath Dham'. Lawyers said Odisha can approach the Supreme Court under Article 131 of the Constitution.
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