The custodian of Lord Shiva's [Images] holy mace has termed as "sacrilege" the reported installation of an artificial ice 'lingam' in place of the naturally-formed structure at the Amarnath cave shrine and demanded a judicial inquiry into it.

"It appears to be an act of sacrilege if the 'himlingam' has been raised manually or mechanically as reported by the media. Keeping in view the sentiments of devotees, I demand that a sitting Supreme Court judge be appointed to find out the truth so that the guilty are punished," 'Charri Mubarak' custodian Mahant Deependra Giri said on Sunday.

He expressed concern over an artificial, chemically-made ice 'lingam' being installed in the cave and sought the Centre's intervention on the matter.

Giri who has been actively associated with the annual pilgrimage of Amarnath for more than two decades and has been the custodian of the mace for 14 years, said, "Himlingam is a natural process and must not be interfered with."

Some pilgrims, who have so far paid obeisance at the 3,880 mt (12,755 feet) shrine, said the 'lingam' was artificial and not natural.