Superstition should not dominate security: SC

The bench may order opening of vault B of the Kerala temple

A Bench of Justices R V Raveendran and A K Patnaik, however, while reserving its order, said the court would keep in mind the traditions and customs in preserving the huge assets of the temple.

“We will ensure that the tradition is respected. We will maintain the tradition and the customs as far as possible. But where security measures will have to prevail, some concessions have to be made,” the court said. The Bench is going to pass an order on opening of other vaults (kalaras) of the temple, which came into limelight following the recovery of huge wealth. The court perused the expert committee’s report, besides the affidavit of the Kerala government on the issue.

The court-appointed committee had recommended a proposal for limiting the entry points to the temple and regulating the traffic on the periphery of the temple.

It is likely to pass the order on the amount of funds to be shared between the temple administration and the state government. The Kerala government maintained that it would accept the amount fixed by the court. The Bench said preparation of the inventory and security measures must start at the earliest in the temple.