Challenging the suspension orders slapped on them by the chief administrator of Shree Jagannath Temple Administration (SJTA), the two Daita servitors -- Kashinath Dasmohapatra and his son Jaykrushna -- have approached the Orissa High Court.
Seeking to grant a stay on the operation of June 24 orders, the father-son duo in two separate petitions have also urged the High Court to quash the impugned orders saying that they have been passed in an “illegal” and “arbitrary” manner without following the principles of natural justice.
The petitioners have also sought to quash the show-cause notices issued to them saying that both the orders of the suspension and the subsequent show-cause notices of the chief administrator are clear violation of Section 21 A of the Shree Jagannath Temple Act of 1954.
The petitions are, however, not been listed yet for adjudication.
It may be mentioned here that pending withdrawal of disciplinary proceedings, the father-son duo were put under suspension in the morning of June 24 with immediate effect under section 21-B of the Act.
The action against them came after an enquiry conducted by the temple administration over the delay and disturbances created during the mystic Brahm transfer of the deities on June 16. Both the Daitas were, however, issued show-cause notices on June 24 evening under section 21-A of the Act asking them to reply within 30 days about the allegations levelled against them, failing which appropriate disciplinary actions would be taken against them as per law.
Stating that the Temple administration has arbitrarily taken action against them, the petitioners said: “Before Section 21-B comes into play, the temple administration should have recourse to Section 21-A of the Act and the same having not been done in the instant case, the impugned orders of suspension as well as the show-cause notices are not sustainable in the eyes of law and are as such the same are liable to quash,” the petitions said.
