New Delhi, Sep 16 (IANS): The Supreme court Friday said the question of opening vault B of Kerala's Sree Padmanabhaswamy temple will be considered only after steps have been taken for the protection and conservation of the artefacts that were taken out from other vaults

An apex court bench of Justice R.V. Raveendran and Justice A.K. Patnaik gave the ruling while reserving its order on the recommendations of the expert committee on the security of the valuables from other vaults.

The court will pass its directions on Wednesday. Justice Raveendran said that while the court will uphold the traditions and faith of the devotees, it will not let them come in the way of providing security to temple treasure.

The court said: "Somewhere down the line, a compromise has to be hammered between tradition and faith, and the security of the temple treasure."

Rubies, diamonds, gold statues and coins found in the five vaults opened so far have been unofficially estimated to be valued at over Rs.1 lakh crore.