Hyderabad, November 29: A division bench of the Andhra Pradesh High Court today held that the gold plating work of the sanctum sanctorum of famous Tirumala temple undertaken by the Tirupati Tirumala Devasthanam (TTD) was “illegal and unconstitutional”.
The bench comprising Justice B Prakasha Rao and Justice Reddy Kantha Rao found fault with the TTD for taking up the project in a hurry and in a whimsical manner.
The TTD had announced Anantha Swarnamaya Pathakam and solicited donations in gold for the scheme.
The petitioners, including Janata Party president Subramaniam Swamy, who appeared in court as party in person, and IPS officer G Raghava Reddy among others, contended that rare inscriptions on walls of the temple would be destroyed if the gold plating work is undertaken.
–Agencies