Chennai, Apr 1 (IANS): The Madras High Court will be hearing the missing peacock idol case on April 5 after the Tamil Nadu government informed the court that a retired judge has been appointed to head a fact-finding committee to investigate the complaint of theft.

A PIL filed in the case had requested the court to take a decision on the missing peacock with flowers on its beak which was replaced by another one with a snake on its beak in the Kapaleeswarar Temple in Chennai's Mylapore.

The Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments (HR&CE) department on Thursday deposed before the first bench of the Madras High Court comprising Chief Justice Munishwar Nath Bhandari that it had appointed retired Judge of the High Court, K. Venkataraman to head a fact-finding committee. The committee will investigate the complaint regarding the theft of the peacock idol from the temple.

According to the history of the temple, the peacock was seen worshipping Lord Shiva, who is the presiding deity of the temple with the flowers on its beak. Legend has it that the flowers from the Punani tree were used by the peacock to worship Lord Shiva.

The Madras High Court asked the petitioner as well as the other parties to present the material in support of their stand on the issue and to refer to Agama Sastra experts before a final decision is taken.

The Idol wing of the Tamil Nadu Police has been relentlessly pursuing the missing peacock idol case of the Kapaleeswarar Temple which was missing since 2004. Srirangam lodged a complaint against a few individuals on July 23, 2018 and subsequently he filed a PIL in the Madras High court.

The idol wing is of the opinion that the idol was likely to be stolen before 2004.