A Division Bench of the Andhra Pradesh High Court, comprising Justices B. Prakasha Rao and Reddy Kantha Rao, on Monday declared that the plan of gold plating the sanctum sanctorum of the main temple at Tirumala as illegal, unconstitutional and without jurisdiction.
The Bench found fault with the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD) for taking up this project in a hurry in “whimsical manner,” unmindful of the religious sentiments involved. It was made clear that this was not simple secular activity as claimed.
The court was allowing a batch of writ petitions filed by G. Raghava Reddy, Janata Party president Subramanian Swamy (who appeared as party in person) and the Parameswara Seva Samithi. Several persons impleaded themselves to support the petitioners.
It may be recalled that the TTD had announced “Anantha Swarnamaya Pathakam” and solicited donations in gold.
The petitioners contended that the proposed gold plating would destroy rare inscriptions on the wallswhich have religious value. Besides, the main temple would be weakened by drilling more than 1,400 rivets into the walls.
The TTD took the stand that these inscriptions were photographed , translated and published. The former chairman of the TTD, D. Adikeshavulu Naidu, got impleaded in this case as respondent. He claimed that gold plating was a secular activity.
The Bench said, “Meddling with ancient inscriptions on the walls of the sanctum sanctorum would amount to interdicting the religious aspects of the institution, and cannot form part of secular activity and, as such without any jurisdiction and in violation of Articles 25 and 26 of the Constitution.”The court took into consideration a report by the Archaeological Survey of India, which said gold plating would damage the inscriptions and the structure in the long run. The Bench asserted that “the inscriptions pertain to temple deity, and are of immense value. They cannot be treated as bare structures unconnected with the deity.”
Justice Prakasha Rao found that the original note file revealed that the opinion of the “peethadhipatis” and the “agama pundits” was not taken while the TTD's engineering section and financial wing were not in the picture.
Allowing the petitions, the court said that “no project report was prepared, which shows whimsical approach.”
