The board of trustees of the organisation that runs the Tirumala Venkateshwara temple in Andhra Pradesh has decided to file a defamation suit against its former head priest who had made several allegations against the administrators last month. The trust has denied the allegations.

Putta Sudhakar Yadav, the chairman of Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanam, said on Tuesday that the trust had asked its legal team to work out the modalities for filing the case against former head priest AV Ramana Deekshitulu, The Hindu reported. The trust is also mulling to file cases against others who have made similar allegations.

“We have sought the opinion of our legal advisers as to how to proceed legally against those who raised doubts over the safety of jewels and also other aspects pertaining to Tirumala temple and TTD administration,” the trust’s executive officer, Anil Kumar Singhal, told reporters, according to The New Indian Express.

In May, AV Ramana Deekshitulu had called for an audit of donations that the temple receives to find out how they were being spent. He also demanded a probe into the alleged financial irregularities. He had alleged that since the state government took over the temple 22 years ago, an inventory of the jewellery that adorns the deity has not been made. “Of late, only the newer jewellery is given to adorn the Lord,” he had said. “What happened to the ancient ornaments? An open audit should be done. Digital records should be made for transparency.”