Court seeks details of TTD assets

 The High Court directed the Executive Officer of the Tirupati Tirumala Devasthanams (TTD) on Thursday to give an undertaking that the TTD would submit a comprehensive inventory of jewellery indicating the value in addition to the status of movable and immovable properties of the Devasthanams within two months.

A Division Bench comprising Justice G. Raghuram and Justice Ramesh Ranganathan ordered the affidavit to be filed by August 27. A report spelling out clearly the reasons ‘structural or otherwise for failure to ensure annual verification and audit of entirety of assets of temples’ is to be submitted along with the inventory.

The Bench was dealing with a writ petition filed by Bezawada Govinda Reddy of Nellore district who alleged that the valuable jewellery was being misappropriated and there was no accountability. On August 3, the Bench directed the TTD “to place for perusal of this court an inventory of the entire jewellery of Lord Venkateswara, Tirumala, and other temples along with the statement as to the conformity of the list with the physical verification of the jewellery done.”

The TTD failed to produce the list on Thursday and its counsel, S. R. Ashok, requested the court to give it two more months’ time. S. Ramachandra Rao, counsel for the petitioner, opposed this and alleged that the TTD would manipulate the records. He said that the EO, in his letter issued in 2008, admitted that verification had not taken place from 2005 and there was continuous embezzlement. He said that for the last one year the matter was being adjourned.

The counsel for the TTD took strong exception to the remarks and said that best efforts were being made to protect the Lord’s property. He said that if the hearing was held in the chambers of the judges, he was ready to disclose more things, but the Bench did not agree. The Bench was given a book containing the details of some jewels. The Bench expressed dismay over the fact that the caratage of the diamonds, etc. was not mentioned.

The Bench sought a master list of the entire gold and silver jewellery and other articles used for ‘pooja’, pertaining to all temples under the control of the TTD, to be placed before the court. It also wanted the report of verification and enumeration of purity, weight and caratage of the items in the master list to be authenticated by the EO of the TTD.