Says acceptance of report will affect day-to-day functioning of temple
Thiruvananthapuram: The erstwhile Travancore royal family will submit an affidavit in the Supreme Court on Wednesday stating that the acceptance of the amicus curiae report in toto would adversely affect the day-to-day functioning of the Sree Padmanabha Swamy temple.
The affidavit will also emphasise that the report was prepared by the amicus curiae in an arbitrary manner without meaningful consultations. It will also be argued that most of the statements were the results of coercion. This line of argument will be bolstered by another affidavit by the jewellery owner, Raju, who had been mentioned in the amicus curiae report.
The erstwhile royals, however, will not oppose the move to conduct an audit into the management of the temple. On Wednesday, the apex court will also consider a public interest litigation which calls for the utilisation of the riches of the Sree Padmanabha Swamy temple for education, health and other welfare activities.
Jeweller who sold gold retracts his statement
A gold worker who was quoted by the Amicus Curiae in his report in the Sree Padm-anabhaswamy temple case as having admitted that he had connived with former head of Travancore royal to take certain quantity of gold out of the temple complex on Tuesday retracted his statement.
Raju, a city-based gold worker, said he made such a statement under duress and he was not part of any such malpractice or any one compelled to do so. “I was pressurised (to make such a statement)... The reason appears to be mysterious... It seems that they wanted to implicate some persons,” Mr Raju told reporters.
Amicus Curiae Gopal Subramaniam last week submitted a comprehensive report to the Supreme Court pointing out alleged mismanagement of the temple wealth.
The report had suggested that there had been instances of gold being smuggled out allegedly with the connivance of the trustees of the temple, whose underground vaults contain treasures.
