New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Thursday ordered the audit of Kerala's Sree Padmanabhaswamy temple under the supervision of former Comptroller and Auditor General Vinod Rai. The order came after the apex court appointed Amicus Curie and former Solicitor General of India Gopal Subramanian had made some startling revelations in his report to the apex court.
According to his report, gold plating machines were found inside the temple leading to suspicion that gold at the temple was systematically being stolen by some 'very influential' people.
The report suggested that some people on the highest echelons of the temple administration may have something to do with it. It has also raised serious questions over the manner in which the Travancore royal family is administering the temple.
Report talked about how an auto-driver was found dead in a well near the temple and the acid attack on another person.
The report said "it appears that there has been large scale breach of moral and fiduciary duties towards Sree Padmanabhaswamy and the temple, and the temple which is a public temple has been treated for all effects and purposes as a private fiefdom".
It also came down heavily on the auditors accusing them of "failing in performing their ethical and moral duties".
The Amicus Curie has suggested that an independent team comprising people like former CAG Vinod Rai and a Deputy Governor of the Reserve Bank of India must conduct a fresh auditing of the temple.
The century old temple has been the royal family temple of the Travancore kings who ruled southern part of Kerala till it joined the Union of India after Independence from the British.
The secret vaults in the temple have gold and gold ornaments worth over Rs 1 lakh crore. The government is spending over Rs 1 crore on the security of the temple every month.
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