Thiruvananthapuram:
The man who fought for transparency in the management of Sree Padmanabhaswamy temple's assets, 70-year-old Sundararajan, has died. He was seriously ill for the past few days and died after a heart attack early on Sunday.
It was Sundararajan's petition which paved way for the Kerala High Court order early this year, which directed the state Government to take over the temple's assets.
The Travancore Royal family, custodians of the temple, challenged this in the Supreme Court. The apex court, while hearing the case, ordered a thorough audit of the temple treasure.
Legal experts say Sunderarajan's death will not affect the ongoing case.
"Essentially it is public interest that has been highlighted in the litigation. Therefore the demise of an individual will not in any way affect the ongoing proceedings in the Supreme Court," said Legal Expert Kaleeswaram Raj.
The audit had revealed a treasure worth over Rs 1 lakh crore, but it was stopped after concerns that it would interfere with the temple's customs and tradition. There was also a debate over whether opening a particular vault, not opened for ages, would invite the deity's anger.
Sundararajan's office functioned from a building owned by the temple. Last week, he was served an eviction notice by the temple authorities. He also earned the anger of many right-wing Hindu organisations for approaching the court. Clearly, the 70-year-old's last days were not that peaceful.