Cuttack, March 21: Orissa High Court today imposed restrictions on construction of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness's proposed temple project in Puri.

In an interim order, the court also gave a free hand to the Puri Konark Development Authority to go ahead with the proceedings initiated by it against Iskcon.

The high court was hearing a petition challenging the order that a single-judge bench had issued on February 24, expressing disinclination to interfere in the authority's proceedings related to the project.

The controversy began on January 18 with BJP leader Bijoy Mohapatra alleging at a news conference in Bhubaneswar that Iskcon was conspiring to build another Jagannath temple in Puri. "The Pilgrim Town is the abode of Lord Jagannath. No scripture allows a second Jagannath temple in Puri," Mohapatra had said.

Following the allegations, the authority had ordered stopping of construction of the proposed temple and issued a notice on Iskcon.

When Iskcon's project director Vanamali Das alias Brundaban Nayak first sought intervention of the high court against the notice, the single-judge bench of Justice Sanju Panda issued an interim stay order on January 29. Consequently, the authority could not go ahead with the proceedings in the case.

On February 24, Justice Panda vacated the stay order and directed the authority to consider the reply of the petitioner "in accordance with statutory provisions" and allowed an intervener in the case.

The intervener, sBijay Kumar Panda of Puri, claimed the land on which the temple was proposed to be built, was part of the 30 acres owned by the late Hasmukh Lal Desai of Maharashtra.

Claiming to be the power of attorney holder of the land, Panda said the land belongs to one Gopal Trust, which was formed when Desai was alive. Panda said he had challenged the land transfer to Iskcon in the additional district magistrate court in Puri on behalf of Desai's son Piyush, who is now based in the United States.

Iskcon returned to the high court by way of an appeal petition for review of the order by the single-judge bench, which had allowed an intervention petition and given the intervener the liberty to raise his objection before the authority. When the appeal petition came up today, Iskcon pressed for a stay order.

"After a brief hearing, the division bench of Chief Justice Vineet Saran and Justice B.R. Sarangi said there should be no construction till the disposal of the case, and the proceedings before the authority will continue," said Durga Charan Mohanty, counsel for the intervener.

The high court further directed the petitioner to serve copies of the appeal petition to the intervener, state government and the authority to file their respective response.