HC directs HR&CE department to take serious note of theft of temple jewellery and ancient idols

The Madras High Court on Thursday refused to accept a counter affidavit filed by the Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments (HR&CE) department, during the previous All India Anna Dravida Mu

The Madras High Court on Thursday refused to accept a counter affidavit filed by the Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments (HR&CE) department, during the previous All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam regime, in a case related to theft of ancient idols and temple jewellery. It directed the department to reconsider its stand since there has been a change in government. Passing interim orders on a public interest litigation petition filed by temple activist R. Venkataraman, the first Division Bench of Chief Justice Sanjib Banerjee and Justice Senthilkumar Ramamoorthy had on January 20 taken serious note of petitioner’s complaint that temple jewellery and other ancient artefacts had been wrongfully removed or pilfered from temples situated at various places across the State. The court had directed the HR&CE department to immediately coordinate with the Director General of Police (DGP) for ascertaining the places from where the jewellery could be missing. The department as well as the DGP were also directed to file affidavits indicating a roadmap to recover the stolen jewellery and the steps planned to be taken to prevent such thefts of artefacts in the future.