New Delhi, September 16
The Supreme Court said today that the question of opening vault B of Kerala's Sree Padmanabhaswamy temple will be considered only after steps have been taken for the protection and conservation of the artefacts that were taken out from other vaults.

Sree Padmanabhaswamy temple, Thiruvananthapuram. — AFP

An apex court bench of Justices RV Raveendran and AK Patnaik gave the ruling while reserving its order on the recommendations of the expert committee on the security of the valuables from other vaults.

The court will pass its directions on Wednesday. Justice Raveendran said while the court would uphold the traditions and faith of the devotees, it would not let them come in the way of providing security to temple treasure.

The court said: "Somewhere down the line, a compromise has to be hammered between tradition and faith, and the security of the temple treasure."

Rubies, diamonds, gold statues and coins found in the five vaults opened so far have been unofficially estimated to be valued at over Rs 1 lakh crore.

Meanwhile, the bench was told that the expert committee has suggested several measures for security and preservation of the temple wealth for which there was a need of its direction.

Senior advocate Dhruv Mehta said a proposal for electronic security has been received by KELTRON (Kerala State Electronics Development Corporation Ltd). He said the committee has recommended maintenance of security around the walls of the temple by the Central Reserve Police Force, which has been opposed by the Kerala government which wants that state police force to be deployed.

Further, there has been a proposal for limiting the entry points to the temple and for regulating the traffic on the periphery of the temple, the committee said, adding there was also a need to arrange the power back-up. — Agencies