The Supreme Court on Tuesday advised its amicus curiae and senior advocate Gopal Subramanium to discuss the opening of Kallara B of the Padmanabhaswamy temple in Thiruvananthapuram with the royal family of erstwhile Travancore to complete the inventory of temple valuables and treasures.
A Bench, led by Chief Justice of India J.S. Khehar, observed orally that the very purpose of the Supreme Court’s ongoing intervention in the temple’s management and affairs was to usher in sanctity and transparency. The opening of the vault to make an inventory of the valuables inside would hardly be a transgression against faith and sentiments.
Chief Justice Khehar made the observations when the royal family’s lawyer and senior advocate Krishnan Venugopal said there was a tantri’s report that Kallara B should not be opened as it concerned a matter of belief.
“The whole purpose of this (inventory) is to bring sanctity and transparency. No sentiments are violated by recording an inventory. Tell us, what purpose is served if it (Kallara B) is not opened,” Chief Justice Khehar asked.
Mr. Subramanium informed the court that an expert committee had already completed the inventories of the other vaults in temple, but is unable to end the exercise due to its lack of access to the B vault.
However, Mr. Subramanium said former Comptroller and Auditor General Vinod Rai, who was appointed by the Supreme Court to audit the temple finances and records, had submitted a report in which it was pointed out that temple records showed that this very vault had been opened nine times in the past.
“You (Mr. Subramanium) discuss the matter. We only want transparency,” Chief Justice Khehar said.
The court, however, refused to order a separate investigation in the case of eight missing diamonds used as part of Lord Padmanabhaswamy’s tilakam, saying that there was already an FIR registered in the case.
The court said foolproof measures should be taken by the 200-strong contingent of police at the temple and no such incidents of theft should ever occur.
Executive officer
The court recorded that V. Ratheeshan, an IAS officer, had been appointed the new executive officer of the temple on June 18. It took into consideration the past tensions between the previous executive officer K.N. Satheesh and the Administrative Committee and said a proper working arrangement should be made in the future. The court appointed the executive officer as member secretary of the Administrative Committee and said he should consult the committee on all policy decisions and work hand in hand with the committee.
The court asked the State government to decide and discharge Mr. Ratheeshan from his other official duties and in the next two weeks.
Financial controller
The court also agreed that a financial controller be appointed to audit the temple finances from a shortlisted panel of three officers from the Indian Audit and Accounts Services. The shortlisted names would be forwarded by the State to the Administrative Committee, which would make the final choice. The financial controller would file quarterly reports to the Administrative Committee. The court said the temple trust would also be subjected to a separate audit.
The court said that the individual inspection of the moolavigraham by experts should be completed by July 15.
The court also requested former Supreme Court judge K.S. Radhakrishnan to head a selection committee to decide who should be given the repair work of the sreekovil.
