HC notice to state, temple over 'soul transfer' fiasco

The Orissa High Court today issued notices directing the state government and the Shree Jagannath Temple Administration (SJTA) to respond to a PIL seeking a judicial inquiry into the 'Brahma Parivartan' fiasco of the four deities in Puri temple on June 16.
A division bench of Justices Pradeep K Mohanty and Biswajit Mohanty directed the chief secretary, the law secretary and the chief administrator of SJTA to respond within two weeks to the PIL filed by a Jagannath devotee Umakanta Pattanayak.
The petitioner has maintained that irregularities took place during observance of rituals 'Nabakalebar' and the fiasco in 'Brahma Paribartan' (soul transfer) has caused immense public discontent.

These incidents happened due to 'callous' attitude of the state government, SJTA and alleged highhandedness of a section of sevayats (servitors), the petitioner claimed.
Doubting the outcome of the ongoing administrative inquiry into the whole incident, the petitioner said only a judicial inquiry headed by a former judge of either the Supreme Court or the High Court would be able to bring the guilty to book.