The Supreme Court has agreed to take up on Tuesday a petition challenging the Odisha government’s decision to carry out excavation work around the Shree Jagannath Temple in Puri.

The plea alleged that the construction work was posing a serious threat to the structure of the historical shrine.

A bench of Justices B.R. Gavai and Hima Kohli agreed to list the matter for urgent hearing upon a request from the counsel for the petitioner Sumanta Kumar Gadhei.

The bench asked Gadhei to serve a copy of the petition to senior advocate Ranjit Kumar who is assisting the court in the matter as an amicus curiae.

The petitioner has sought a ban on all construction or excavation work on temple land.