Former judge ready with Sabarimala inventory

Thiruvananthapuram: Kerala High Court judge C.N. Ramachandaran Nair , appointed by the Supreme Court, to supervise preparation of inventory and valuation report of the ornaments adorning Lord Ayyappa at Kerala's Sabarimala temple, completed his work on Friday.

The apex court's direction came following an alleged dispute between two branches of the erstwhile Pandalam royal family, which is the custodian of the sacred ornaments.

Pandalam is located about 90 km from the state capital.

Justice Nair who reached the residence of the erstwhile royals on Friday informed the media that his job was over.

"Now, I will submit my report in a sealed cover to the Supreme Court. In my stock-taking I was assisted by jewellery experts and we did everything using electronic devices," said Nair, adding he was happy with the present security arrangements in place for the ornaments.

A bench of Justices N.V. Ramana, Ajay Rastogi and V. Ramasubramanian early this month directed Justice Nair to complete the inventory report and submit it to the Supreme Court bench.