Bhubaneswar,09 Jan.2019: The Supreme Court on Wednesday appointed former Solicitor General Ranjit Kumar as new amicus curiae to monitor implementation of the proposed Jagannath Temple reforms.

Sources said a hearing was held by a three-member new bench comprising Justice AK Shikri, Justice MA Shah and Justice Abdul Nazir of the  apex court on the PIL filed by Cuttack-based lawyer Mrinalini Padhi on the temple reforms.

The next hearing in the case is scheduled to be held on February 5.

Kumar is a senior advocate practicing in Supreme Court of India and the former Solicitor General of India. He was appointed in 2014 by the incumbent government of Narendra Modi, succeeding Mohan Parasaran.

The apex court’s move came after former Solicitor General of India Gopal Subramanium stepped down from his post as the amicus curiae on November 30 last year citing personal reasons.

Taking serious note of allegations of exploitation of devotees by the sevayats and mismanagement in the 12th century shrine, the Supreme Court, while hearing a petition on June 8 and July 5, had directed the temple administration to implement 12 proposals as a part of disciplinary reforms.