The Supreme Court has upheld the rights of the erstwhile Travancore royal family as “shebait” of the Shree Padmanabhaswamy temple in Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, observing that death of the ruler who signed the covenant will not affect the right of royal family.
The apex court has appointed a district judge-led committee to oversee temple administration as an interim measure, which will decide if Kallara B (vault), believed to contain some mystical energy, will be opened or not.
The SC bench comprising Justice U.U. Lalit and Justice Indu Malhotra had reserved judgment on 10 April 2019 after hearing arguments for around three months on a batch of petitions against the Kerala High Court’s 2011 verdict which asked the state government to take over the assets and management of the temple. The HC verdict was stayed that year itself by the top court, making it clear that the vault shouldn’t be opened without its nod. The court had also ordered preparation of an inventory of valuables, articles, precious stones and ornaments lying in vaults A, C, D, E and F.
In course of hearing, the Kerala government and the heirs of Marthanda Varma royal family had refuted claims over the wealth lying in temple vaults, stating that the wealth belonged to the deity. Then CAG Vinod Rai was asked to carry out an audit of expenses of the temple trust between years 2008 and 2014, while experts were employed to assist in preservation and safe storage of antique and precious items.