New Delhi: The Supreme Court Wednesday
directed videography of the ongoing unearthing of treasure
trove inside chambers of the Sree Padmanabhaswamy Temple in
Kerala.
A bench of justices R V Raveendran and A K Patnaik
also proposed the appointment of a curator of a museum to
preserve the treasure being unearthed from the centuries-old
temple in Thiruvananthapuram.
The apex court's directions came during the hearing of
a petition by the heir of erstwhile king of Travancore Raja
Rama Varma, challenging a Kerala High Court ruling of January
31 this year, ordering takeover of the assets and management
of the shrine by the state.
The court also barred the observer, supervising the
unearthing of the temple's treasure, from giving any interview
of the process, saying the matter is related to the state.
After brief proceedings, the court posted the matter
for further hearing on Friday.
Earlier on May 2, on a petition filed by Rama Varma's
elder brother Marthanda Varma, the apex court, by an interim
order, had stayed the high court's order for takeover of the
management and assets of the temple.
While hearing of the petition, the court had directed
that "there shall be a detailed inventory of the articles,
valuables and ornaments found from the temple's treasure
trove."
PTI
First Published: Wednesday, July 06, 2011, 15:28