Royal plea on temple treasure declined

NEWDELHI: The Supreme Court on Friday declined to accept a plea by Marthanda Varma of Travancore royal family that yet another door - the ‘B vault’ (kallara) - in the famous Sri Padmanabha Swamy temple in Thiruvananthapuram should not be opened. The court did not issue any order directing the opening of the door either and posted the matter for hearing on September 12.When a strong plea was made that the doors should not be opened, a Bench comprising Justice R V Raveendran and Justice A K Patnaik remarked, “You either hear to the Devaprasnam or hear to the Supreme Court.”Justice Raveendran pointed out that the advocate-commissioner submitted his report in which he stated that pilferage of gold ornaments had taken place. “Gold is being replaced. Some of the articles are not being replaced either,” the judge pointed out.Rightly or wrongly, the worth of the treasure has come out, he said. “Now, we cannot go back. Security for the temple is vital,” he said.