Bhubaneswar: The Odisha Board of Revenue has directed that around 1.5 acres of valuable land near Shree Gundicha Temple in Puri be recorded again in the name of Mahaprabhu Shree Jagannath, after examining how the property’s original temple record was changed and subsequently transferred through sale deeds.
The land, located in Mouza Talabania near Sharadha Bali, was recorded in the 1889 Sabik record in the name of Shree Jagannath Mahaprabhu with Amruta Manohi status. However, the record was changed to the name of a private individual in 2002, following which the land was transferred to other persons through registered sale deeds.
The matter came before the Odisha Board of Revenue, which took up the case suo motu under Section 32 of the Odisha Survey and Settlement Act. The Board examined the Sabik and Hal records, sale deeds, the source of the land, and the legal provisions governing Shree Jagannath Temple property.
A key issue before the Board was the change in the land’s kisam and the subsequent claims of private rights over the property. The Board also examined the legal requirement under Section 16(2) of the Shree Jagannath Temple Act, 1955, which requires prior approval of the State government for the sale or other transfer of immovable property in the possession of the Temple Committee.
No proof of such prior approval was presented in the case. The Board held that where the legal validity of an original transfer is not established, the defect cannot be cured merely through subsequent sale deeds.
The Board also considered the claim that the temple managing committee had given consent or a no-objection. It held that such consent could not substitute the mandatory prior approval of the State Government.
Following its examination, the Board directed the concerned settlement authority to reconcile the Hal and not-final records with the Sabik record and record the land as “Shree Jagannath Mahaprabhu Bije, Puri, through the Temple Managing Committee, Amruta Manohi status.”
The order effectively restores the original record status of the land, which had subsequently entered private records and been transferred through sale deeds.
Board of Revenue Member Satyabrata Sahu directed the Chief Administrator of Shree Mandir to bring approximately 1.5 acres of the land into the khata of Mahaprabhu Shree Jagannath.
Government Advocate Ambika Prasad Mishra presented the legal case on behalf of Mahaprabhu Shree Jagannath.
The proceedings have highlighted the legal protection applicable to Amruta Manohi property and the importance of the original temple records in determining the status of such land.
