Overview
- A division bench of Chief Justice Harish Tandon and Justice M. S. Raman issued the January 27 order, which was uploaded on February 12, directing action on the inquiry report and the inventory tally.
- The Justice Raghubir Dash Commission report on the missing key is to be placed before the Odisha Assembly during the upcoming Budget session beginning February 17.
- The court set the 1978 inventory as the benchmark, noting it recorded 454 gold articles (128.380 kg) and 293 silver articles (221.530 kg), and warned the State against complacency.
- The commission was formed in 2018 after the inner chamber key was reported missing; a duplicate key was later found in a sealed envelope, and the panel’s 324-page report was submitted in November 2018 but not tabled.
- Verification follows recent conservation steps as the inner chamber was opened on July 14, 2024 for repairs, valuables were shifted for Archaeological Survey of India work, and returned to the original chambers in September 2025 under new SOPs and a high-level committee.