After 48 Years, Ratna Bhandar Inventory Likely In 2026 Amid Court Push, Public Concern

Cuttack: Odisha is poised to witness a historic moment in 2026 with the long-awaited inventory of jewellery and valuables stored in the Ratna Bhandar of the 12th-century Shree Jagannath Temple, nearly five decades after the last such exercise was conducted in 1978.

The proposed inventory has acquired deep emotional and public significance amid long-standing apprehensions over the preservation and accounting of the Lord's priceless treasures. The inventory, last undertaken after Independence in 1952 and again in 1978, is now set to be carried out under a detailed Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) prepared by a high-level supervisory committee headed by retired Orissa High Court judge Justice Biswanath Rath.

Last week, the committee released an 11-page draft SOP, which was discussed and is awaiting approval of the Shree Jagannath Temple Managing Committee (SJTMC) before being sent to the State government for final clearance and fixation of timelines. Sources indicated the exercise is planned to be completed well before the Rath Yatra of 2026 in July.

Odisha Law Minister Prithviraj Harichandan said the SOP is nearly final, and the inventory will begin soon after government approval. "The exercise will be conducted in three phases, covering ornaments in regular use by the deities, valuables kept in the outer chamber, and finally those stored in the inner chamber of the Ratna Bhandar", Harichandan elaborated.

Special arrangements have been proposed to ensure daily rituals and devotees’ darshan remain unaffected, with darshan permitted from the Naatamandap. The SOP lays down stringent security and transparency measures, including videography of the entire process, digitisation of ornaments, participation of two officials nominated by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), issuance of identity cards to servitors, and cross-verification with the 1978 inventory.

Earlier, the Orissa High Court had directed for immediate activation of the inventory process. A Division Bench led by Chief Justice Harish Tandon, while hearing a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) filed by Puri resident Dillip Kumar Baral, took note of an ASI affidavit stating that conservation of the Ratna Bhandar was completed and handed over to the Shree Jagannath Temple Administration (SJTA) on July 6, 2025.

The High Court, on December 23, 2025, emphasised that the issue concerns not only structural preservation but proper inventory of the Lord’s valuables, and posted the matter to January 27, 2026, to review progress.

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