Cuttack, India - In a significant judgement, the Orissa High Court on Dec 05 ruled that Dalits have a right to enter any Hindu temple.
"Every Hindu, irrespective of his caste, has a right to enter any Hindu temple which is open to other persons professing the same religion," a division bench of Chief Justice Sujit Burman Roy and Justice M M Das observed.
The bench was hearing a PIL filed seeking protection for Dalits for their entry into the Jagannath temple at Keredagada in Kendrapara district.
The High Court's ruling came in the wake of a severe caste conflict brewing up among the Dalits and those belonging to the upper caste over the issue of entry of Dalits into the 300-year-old Hindu shrine.
The court also directed the Kendrapara district administration to take appropriate action provided under the law if any law and order situation arose at the temple site over the issue of entry into the place of worship.