Chennai: The Madras High Court on Thursday restrained the Tamil Nadu government from melting unused gold jewellery donated to temples till trustees were appointed to the relevant temples.
The First Bench of Chief Justice Sanjib Banerjee and Justice PD Audikesavalu however, said the task of completing the inventory of temple offerings could continue under the aegis of the Committee constituted by the State government which comprises of retired Judges.
The Bench said no decision to melt the jewellery or dispose of any valuable which forms part of offerings at relevant temples should be taken without the appointment of the trustees.
The Commissioner of the Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments department cannot suo motu decide on melting of temple gold without the recommendations of the trustees as per the HR and CE Act, the bench said.
The interim order was passed on petitions filed by M Saravanan and A V Gopala Krishnan challenging the decision to melt gold jewellery and deposit them in banks. (UNI)