Chandi Temple in Cuttack. Telegraph picture

Cuttack, Sept. 30: Orissa High Court has revoked an order to a 19-year-old to clean the shoes of devotees at Cuttack’s Chandi Temple two hours a week for 12 weeks.

The court has substituted it with “sweeping the floor of temple, preparing garlands to be offered to the deity, collection of flowers, preparation of sandal pastes, removing used flowers offered to the deity, serving food in community feast or any welfare work or ‘seva’ of the temple” once in a week for a year.

The single-judge bench of Justice C.R. Dash had included kar seva as one of the conditions, while granting bail to Suman Patra, alias Tiki of Samanta Sahi in Cuttack.

Akhaya Kumar Patra, the father of the accused, had filed a petition seeking modification of the order while giving an undertaking to “to ensure that his son does not commit such crime again”. The accused had also submitted a “note of repentance”.

Justice Dash, while modifying his earlier order said, he felt persuaded to give the matter another thought “as the concept of kar seva in the shoe-stand of a shrine has not yet been recognised as an honourable community service in the culture of our state (Orissa) and the shoe-stands before the shrines are being managed on contract basis for profit only”.

As part of the three new conditions, Justice Dash gave the accused the option of doing any two. Apart from kar seva, the first of the two conditions is saving a part of his daily pocket money spending it to provide chocolates, pencils, clothings, or study materials, to the children of any orphanage of his choice in Cuttack town or Cuttack Sadar. The other condition is that he should associate himself with any voluntary organisation or group of Cuttack town engaged in collection of blood to augment the needs of patients suffering from diseases.

Both conditions will come into effect from October 1. If opted for, “the duration of kar seva shall be effective from Sunday or any other day from the first week of October 2011 for one year or till conclusion of trial, whichever is earlier”, the order said.

While issuing the order yesterday, the court directed the investigating officer to monitor the conditions imposed accordingly during appearance of the petitioner before him in compliance of an earlier order.

As part of the bail conditions, Justice Dash on September 9 ordered the accused to appear before the concerned investigating officer twice in a week on the day and time fixed by the cop till conclusion of trial. Tiki was a prime accused in an alleged molestation case that had occurred on June 29.