SC nod to open vaults C, D of Kerala temple

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: With the Supreme Court on Thursday giving its nod to open vaults C and D of Sree Padmanabhaswamy Temple, the temple expert panel would meet on Friday to decide the date.M V Nair, conservationist and head of the expert committee, told Express that since the scientific documentation of articles from vaults E and F was already under way, it would be decided in consultation with all the members of the panel whether to open chambers C and D immediately or resume the ongoing work.“The documentation process of articles from vaults E and F is already going on. With the apex court giving its permission to open vaults C and D, a decision on when to open the cellars will be taken on Friday,” he said.A panel member said that if a decision is taken to continue with the present documentation, the C and D vaults were likely to be opened on Monday.The court also permitted the use of utensils of C and D vaults for pooja with the consent of the expert committee.The panel had approached the Supreme Court seeking permission to open vaults C and D after it was sealed by the Thiruvananthapuram Principal Sub-Court.The Supreme Court ruled that the presence of the advocates commission appointed by the sub-court was not necessary during the inventory process of vault C.The commission will work under the expert committee which has the power to scrap its functioning, the apex court ruled.The Supreme Court had Wednesday last directed the sub-court not to intervene in Sree Padmanabhaswamy Temple-related matters. More articles, including gold plates from vault E which are used for pooja at the temple, were documented here on Thursday.But gold articles with precious stones were not documented as there was no gemologist in the expert team on Thursday.The documentation process, which was kicked-off on Monday, began with the inventory of articles from E and F vaults, with seven articles documented on the first day followed by ten articles on the next day.The documentation is being carried out using electronic gadgets and high-end devices supplied by Keltron.