While censuring management at Jagannath, Supreme Court Cites Vaishno Devi, Tirupati good practices

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Tuesday sharply criticised the complete lack of crowd management inside the Jagannath temple in contrast to the organised manner in which pilgrims were ushered in for darshan at Tirupati and Vaishno Devi shrines.
“Even VIPs are pushed, jostled and harassed for money. There is always a stampede-like situation even when we go there. The priests tell you to hold on to your money. You will hold on to your money or have a darshan? It is shocking,” a bench led by Justice Arun Mishra observed.

The bench was dealing with a PIL filed by one Mrinalini Padhi seeking better administration and facilities for pilgrims in the temple.

The three-member bench, also comprising Justices MR Shah and Ravindra Bhatt, was dealing with the PIL to clean up the system inside.

The state government had embarked on a controversial demolition drive to widen the road outside the temple.

At the last hearing, the bench had made several sharp remarks against the manner in which the state government was proceeding on this front.

It had asked the state to take all stakeholders into confidence, not destroy anything related to the rituals in the temple and preserve and protect all old mutts instead of demolishing them.

Today that controversy seemed to blow over with the state government, through Solicitor General Tushar Mehta and Advocate General Ashok Parija, claiming everything had been sorted out.

The state claimed that the clean-up outside the temple was being done to prevent stampedes, allow access to fire brigade during fires and to enable easy entry and exit. It was also done to ensure the security of the temple, Mehta told the court.

All steps were being taken to preserve the relics and the gaddis (deities), the SG said. The state was only clearing commercial establishments attached to the mutts from the area and would give them alternate sites in the nearest locality as per its rehabilitation policy, he said.

The proceedings then shifted to the management of affairs inside the temple. The bench wanted to know whether there were hundis and whether the money was accounted for at the end of the day.

The Supreme Court bench also sought to know why the temple management was not adopting best practices used elsewhere for better management of facilities for pilgrims. The bench said that not all modern practices could be implemented in temples.

The bench said the committee must ensure that all rituals are taken care of without state involvement but wanted another oversight committee possibly headed by a retired top court judge from Odisha to change things around.