Final Opportunity for Government to Submit Response in Bagala Dharmashala Case at High Court
In the case concerning the sale of land belonging to Bagala Dharmashala in Puri, the Odisha High Court has granted the state government a final opportunity to file its response by Wednesday. The final hearing of the case has been scheduled for August 1. The High Court rejected the government’s request for an expedited hearing.
The hearing took place before a division bench comprising Chief Justice S. Muralidhar and Justice Gauri Shankar Satapathy. Despite repeated directions from the court, petitioner Jagannath Bastia alleged that the state government had not submitted its response to his revised miscellaneous case. He further stated that BJP spokesperson Dr. Sambit Patra’s case, including its allegations and prayers, is entirely different. Bastia mentioned that he had included all relevant facts regarding the sale of Bagala Dharmashala land in his revised petition, and therefore requested the court to direct the state government to respond before the final hearing.
Government advocate Debakanta Mohanty stated that a reply had already been submitted in Dr. Patra’s case and that the same would be applicable to both cases. After hearing arguments from both sides, the High Court gave the state government a final chance to file a separate response to Mr. Bastia’s revised petition.
The court also instructed Mr. Bastia to file a rejoinder after the state government submits its reply. Senior advocate Pitambar Acharya presented arguments on behalf of Dr. Patra. Former Advocate General Suryakanta Padhy was present on behalf of the Shri Jagannath Temple Administration.
