Orissa High Court unhappy over tenor of CP’s Durga idol order

CUTTACK: The Orissa High Court has expressed displeasure over the language and tenor of Commissioner of Police (CP), Bhubaneswar-Cuttack, Sudhanshu Sarangi while refusing to grant permission to idols over four feet height during Durga Puja in the Twin City this year.

The division bench of Chief Justice Mohammad Rafiq and Justice BR Sarangi termed the action of the CP by interpreting the September 16 court order as “amounting to over-reach of the HC order” 

The bench set October 9 for final hearing on the fresh petition the Balubazar Puja Committee while allowing Advocate General Ashok Kumar Parija to file a fresh affidavit of the CP tendering apology and also the counter affidavit to the petitions filed by the puja committee. It also directed for listing of the petitions filed by the puja committees of Upper Telenga Bazar and Firingi Bazar for analogous hearing on the dispute.

The Advocate General sought permission to file a fresh affidavit of the CP’s apology after the bench observed that the apology tendered in the present affidavit “cannot be termed unconditional”. Balubazar Puja Committee had first challenged the State Government’s September 10 order which stipulated that “the size of the idols shall be less than four ft”. 

In response to it, the bench on September 16 ruled that it was not inclined to interfere with the decision of the State authorities on fixing the norms for holding Durga Puja and other pujas to contain the spread of Covid-19. 

However, it ordered that those who had started construction of the idols over seven ft as per tradition and ritualistic schedule could approach the CP for permission by appropriate representation. The puja committees who have started making the idols of more than four ft in height had submitted applications. But the CP directed them to restrict the height of the idol to four ft as per the guidelines issued by the Government on September 10.