Post News Network
Puri: The Supreme Court delivered a historic verdict, stating the ‘Amrutamanohi’ land belongs to Sri Jagannath temple and not the mutts.
The order, which ended the controversy over the ownership, came as a blow to several mutt administrators who would lose huge amounts of landed properties. The apex court clarified that the Orissa Estates Abolition Act-1951 would not be applicable to Sri Jagannath
temple.
In 2000, the then tehsildar had registered Siddha Mutt’s land in the name of temple administration, according to case details. The plaintiff had challenged the tehsildar’s order in the High Court, which had July 7, 2009, said re-registration of the mutt land in the name of temple administration was illegal and unauthorised.
The temple administration had moved the Supreme Court challenging the High Court order.
A seven-member bench of SC observed that Orissa Estates Abolition Act-1951 cannot be applicable in case of Srimandir land as Sri Jagannath Temple Act-1955 is a special Act dealing with temple properties.
The SC rejected three petitions filed by Raghab Das Mutt and Bauli Mutt in this regard. A bench of justices V Gopala Gowda and M Nagappan delivered its 67-page verdict. Out of 60,259 acres and 625 decimal of land belonging to Lord Jagannath in the state, deeds (pattas) for 32,927 acres and 770 decimal of land have been obtained. The remaining land is maintained by caretakers.
