Cuttack: Social media content creator Shalini Passi has secured interim relief from Orissa high court in a criminal case accusing her of taking photographs inside the prohibited inner sanctum of the 12th-century Jagannath Temple in Puri and posting one of them on Instagram.Hearing her petition, Justice Aditya Kumar Mohapatra on July 27 issued notice to the Odisha govt and directed the trial court to defer further proceedings for eight weeks if the petitioner seeks an adjournment.The petition has been listed for hearing by the high court in the week commencing Sept 7 after the state sought four weeks’ time to obtain instructions.The case has drawn attention because photography inside the Jagannath Temple is strictly prohibited under Section 30-A (4-C) of the Jagannath Temple Act, 1953. The provision bars devotees from carrying cameras, mobile phones or any other photographic devices within the temple premises.Passi has approached the high court, seeking quashing of the June 8, 2021 order of the SDJM, Puri, which had taken cognisance of the offences and issued summons in connection with a case registered at Singhadwara police station in 2021. The quashing petition was filed on July 22 this year.During the hearing, Passi’s counsel argued that even if the allegations made in the FIR were accepted in their entirety, they failed to constitute the offences alleged. The petitioner also contended that several penal provisions invoked by the police had no application to the facts of the case.The case has been registered under *Section 295A of IPC (*Deliberate and malicious acts intended to outrage religious feelings), *Section 30 of the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Remains Act, 1958 (*Penalties for destroying, removing, or injuring protected monuments) and *Section 60 of the Information Technology Act, 2000* (Provisions relating to the Act’s scope/limitation invoked by police). The high court will examine the legality of the criminal proceedings after receiving the state’s response.
