Supreme court announces historic verdict on Padmanabhaswamy temple, royal family will retain their rights

Padmanabhaswamy Temple is a famous Hindu temple of Lord Vishnu located in Thiruvananthapuram in the state of Kerala. The Supreme Court has ordered to retain the rights of the Travancore royal family in the administration of this historic Sri Padmanabhaswamy Temple.The committee headed by the District Judge of Thiruvananthapuram will presently see the arrangement of the temple. The management and administration dispute over the financial mess at Sri Padmanabhaswamy temple was pending for nine years.

The Supreme Court had stayed the High Court’s directive in may 2011 regarding the management of the temple and control over properties. The Supreme Court had said that a detailed description of the valuable items, ornaments in the temple treasury will also be prepared. The Supreme Court had said on 8 July 2011 that the process of opening the vault-B of the temple will be stayed until further orders. Supreme Court upholds the rights of Travancore royal family in the administration of Sree Padmanabhaswamy Temple. After this decision, Aditya Verma, a member of the royal family, said that we wholeheartedly welcome the Supreme Court verdict on Sri Padmanabhaswamy Temple. It reestablishes our family relationship with Lord Shri Padmanabha.

The Royal Family of Travancore had challenged the Kerala High Court’s 2011 judgment in the Supreme Court, which ordered the administration of the Sri Padmanabhaswamy Temple and the state government’s acquisition of the property. Significantly, This grand temple was reconstructed in its present form in the 18th century by the Travancore royal family, who ruled southern Kerala and parts of Tamil Nadu adjacent to it before merging with the Indian Union in 1947.

It was claimed that the temple has a treasure of 2 lakh crores. During the hearing in the court, both the state government and the Royal Family did not state their ownership over the treasury and said that this property belongs to the temple. The SC then instructed to keep the jewels safe.
Today, even the historic decision given by the Supreme Court has not ordered the opening of the vault B of the temple. According to local belief, whoever tries to open the vault of the temple, bad luck will follow.

Pic: SREEKESH RAVEENDRAN NAIR