From Our Bureau
NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Friday pulled up the petitioners and dismissed their PILs alleging illegal excavation and construction at the Jagannath Temple at Puri by the Odisha government.
In its order reserved on Thursday, the top court said: “In the recent past, there is a mushroom growth of PILs. Many such petitions are either publicity interest litigation or personal interest litigation. We deprecate the practice of filing such PIL as it is a waste of judicial time and it needs to be nipped in bud so that development work is not stalled.”
A Bench of Justices Bhushan R Gavai and Ms Hima Kohli rejected two PILs deprecating the PILs filed for publicity or personal interest and imposed a cost of Rs 1 lakh on each.
The apex court refused to entertain petitions seeking a stay on Jagannath Temple Corridor project work and termed it as a necessity for providing public amenities. It is observed that the construction activities are meant to provide facilities and amenities to devotees.
The top court was hearing PILs challenging the order of the Orissa High Court refusing to restrain the state government from carrying out excavation work around the Shree Jagannath temple at Puri in Odisha.
On Thursday, senior advocate Mahalaxmi Pavani, appearing for one of the petitioners, had argued that as per the Ancient Monuments and Archeological Sites and Remains (AMASR) Act 1958, the State government has to mandatorily obtain a NOC from the competent authority for carrying out any works in a protected site.
The state had of course taken a NOC from the National Monuments Authority, but she said the competent authority under the act is the Director or Commissioner of Archaeology Survey of India (ASI).
Advocate Vinay Navare, appearing for another petitioner, had argued that the temple is centuries old and the report of the officer of the Archeology department records that construction carried out is within a prohibited area. Cracks have been found in the temple and its wall and the state government is doing unauthorized construction work which is posing a serious threat to the structure of the ancient temple of Mahaprabhu Shree Jagannath.
Odisha advocate general Ashok Kumar Parija, however, asserted that the competent authority granting permission is the state’s director of culture. The State government is undertaking the activities to provide amenities to the pilgrims and the same has permission, he submitted.
What was being opposed is the corridor around the temple. Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Pattanaik 2021 had laid down the foundation stone for the Jagannath Temple corridor project wherein the 75-metre perimeter of the temple was sought to be transformed into a heritage corridor to attract devotees. `The Srimandir Parikrama project` has been designed to have a wide terraced green landscape and a pedestrian-only pathway.
