Bhubaneswar, Sept. 9 -- The Orissa high court has held that "Amrutamanohi land" belonging to the deity Lord Jagannath cannot be settled in favour of illegal occupants/encroachers only because it is in their possession for decades and they have government identity proofs with the said land. The court was hearing pleas challenging an eviction notice, dated January 12, 2024 that accused over a hundred families, mostly daily wage earners who have been residing on the said land for more than 50 years, of encroaching on Lord Jagannath's "Amrutamanohi property". In Odisha's temple administration system, Amrutamanohi land refers to agricultural or homestead plots that historically belonged to Lord Jagannath of Puri, and were permanently endowed to generate income for rituals and maintenance. These plots are recorded in the deity's name and the temple administration acts as custodian. Holding the eviction as legal, justice Sanjeeb K Panigrahi said: "The land in dispute is an Amrutamanohi property of Lord Jagannath, recorded in the name of the deity, and the Petitioners are unauthorised occupants."...