New Delhi: The Supreme Court has ordered retaining the rights of the Travancore royal family in the administration of the historic Sri Padmanabhaswamy Temple in Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala. The court said in its judgment that the administrative committee managing the affairs of the temple will be chaired by the District Judge of Thiruvananthapuram.
Explain that the court quashed the Kerala High Court’s order of 31 January 2011, in which the state government was asked to set up a trust to take control of the Sri Padmanabhaswamy temple.
At the same time, after this decision, Aditya Verma, a member of the royal family, said that we wholeheartedly welcome the Supreme Court’s decision on Sri Padmanabhaswamy Temple. This re-establishes our family relationship with Lord Sri Padmanabha. The family is happy about this. We look forward to reading the entire verdict.
In fact, the Royal Family of Travancore had challenged the 2011 decision of the Kerala High Court in the Supreme Court in which the court ordered the administration of the Sri Padmanabhaswamy Temple and the acquisition of the property by the state government. The High Court had also ordered the opening of all the cellars of the temple.
Explain that the dispute over the administration and management of the historic temple was pending in the apex court for the last nine years in view of allegations of alleged financial irregularities. This grand temple was rebuilt in its present form in the 18th century by the Travancore royal family, which ruled southern Kerala and parts of Tamil Nadu adjoining it before it merged with the Indian Union in 1947.
Even after independence, the temple continued to be run by a trust controlled by the erstwhile royal family, whose deity is Lord Padmanabha (Vishnu). A bench of Justices U U Lalit and Indu Malhotra reserved its order on April 10 last year on petitions challenging the Kerala High Court’s January 31, 2011 verdict in the case.
The High Court directed the state government to take steps to form a body or trust to manage the temple, its properties and to operate the temple in accordance with the conventions.
