Supreme Court sets aside Kerala HC order allowing government takeover of Sree Padmanabha Swamy Temple, upholds right of Travancore royal family in temple administration

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Monday upheld the rights of the erstwhile royal family of Travancore in the administration and management of Sree Padmanabhaswamy temple in Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala.

Putting an end to the nine-year-long dispute, the apex court overturned the January 2011 judgment of the Kerala High Court, which had ruled that the state government should take over the control of the temple from a trust headed by the former royal family. The order was passed by a Bench of Justices UU Lalit and Indu Malhotra.

Sree Padmanabha Swamy temple is one of the richest temples in the world after the discovery of wealth locked in ‘kallaras’ (vaults) for centuries.

“Great God’s will prevailed. Will say more about it after going through the whole verdict, said Princess Gowri Lakshmibai of the erstwhile Travancore royal family soon after the judgment.

Overturning the Kerala High Court’s 2011 order, the Supreme Court said the death of the last ruler will not result in revocation of rights of the family in favour of the Kerala government.

The top court further said that the death will not affect the rights of shebaitship of the family over the deity and they will survive as per custom. The court also approved the constitution of an interim committee to manage the affairs of the temple until a new committee is formed. The District judge of Thiruvananthapuram will be the Chairperson of this committee. This interim arrangement would continue until the committee is constituted.

It was further specified that all members of the Padmanabhaswamy Temple committee will be Hindus.

The Temple was controlled by a trust headed by the Travancore royal family until April 2014. The primary legal document before the Supreme Court was the agreement of accession (agreement) signed between the Kings of Travancore and the Government of India in 1949. Article VII of the agreement stipulates that administration of the Padmanabhaswamy Temple shall be conducted, subject to the control and supervision of the ruler of Travancore, by an executive officer appointed by the ruler. The ruler at the time of Independence, Sree Chithira Thirunal Balarama Varma, passed away in 1991.

Later, Utharadom Thirunal Marthanda Varma assumed charge as trustee of the temple. He approached the Supreme Court in appeal against the Kerala High Court order.