Cuttack, June 10: A public interest litigation filed in Orissa High Court has sought intervention against the Puri Sri Jagannath Temple Administration's decision not to allow devotees to have naba jaubana besha darshan or the holy sight of the juvenile youth of Lord Balabhadra, Goddess Subhadra and Lord Jagannath on July 17.

Abhisek Das, a social activist and Cuttack resident, has filed the petition before the vacation court, alleging that the decision was "illegal, arbitrary and whimsical". He has sought the court's direction to the temple administration to "recall or modify the decision".

"The vacation bench of Justice Sanju Panda and Justice D.P. Choudhury today postponed the matter for hearing after one week, along with replies from the temple administration and the law department," petitioner counsel Ashok Mohapatra said.

"The court issued notices to the temple administrator, secretary of the law department and the managing committee of the temple to file their responses," Mohapatra said.

This is the first time devotees would not be allowed to have naba jaubana besha darshan on the day before rath yatra in Puri, the PIL contended. As Lord Jagannath and His siblings symbolically fall ill after taking bath on snana purnima, they retire into the anasara ghara (house for rest) and are treated with herbs and a special diet for a fortnight. This period is used for the purpose of renovation and fresh coat of painting to restore the deities to youth (naba jaubana) and place them on the ratna sinhasana in the sanctum sanctorum of the temple. Once the deities "get cured", devotees would then pay visit to the temple to have darshan of them.

This year being Nabakalebar, the bramha paribartan (ritual transfer of soul from the old idols to the new ones) will take place at the night of June 15 and the new deities will stay in the anasara ghara till July 17 when the Trinity will appear in naba jaubana besha.

Rath yatra will be held on July 18. Lord Jagannath and His siblings will return to the main temple on July 26.

The temple administration has decided to impose the restriction anticipating heavy rush inside the temple for the darshan.

The decision hurt the sentiments the devotees of Lord Jagannath, the PIL contends, while citing a report on the Puri Shankaracharya's disapproval of the decision.

On May 30, Puri Shankaracharya Swami Nischalananda Saraswati had disapproved of the decision and said the state government had no right to stop naba jaubana besha darshan of the Trinity this year on the plea that there would be a massive turnout of devotees, which cannot be handled.

Initially, Das had, on June 1, urged the temple administration through a representation to recall or modify the decision. He filed the petition on June 8 when that yielded no response.