A two-judge Supreme Court bench made up of Justice UU Lalit and Indu Malhotra, on July 13, delivered its verdict on a nine-year long management dispute over the Sree Padmanabhaswamy Temple in Kerala’s capital, Thiruvanthapuram,
A bench of Justices U.U. Lalit and Indu Malhotra overruled a 2011 Kerala High Court order to hold that the family will continue to exert its shebait rights. Shebait is a person who serves a Hindu deity and manages the temple.
With the latest verdict, the SC bench has now set aside the previous verdict of the Kerala High Court which had directed the state government to create a trust to take control of the temple.
The judgment came on an appeal filed by Uthradam Thirunal Marthanda Varma, younger brother of the last ruler of Travancore, against the HC ruling that had dismissed his plea claiming ownership of the temple
The question in front of the court was whether Utradam Thirunal Marthanda Varma, could claim to be the “Ruler of Travancore” after the death of the last ruler in 1991.
It is said that before1947, the temples which were under the control and management of the erstwhile Princely States of Travancore and Cochin were under the control of the Travancore and Cochin Devaswom Boards. Later, in 1949, as per the Instrument of Accession signed between the princely states and the Government of India, the administration of the Padmanabhaswamy Temple was given to the Ruler of Travancore
In its 2011 ruling, the Kerala High Court had allowed the Travancore royal family to have a say in the rituals of the temple, but rejected Varma’s argument that he could be the ruler after the death of his brother in 1991.
Also, Kerala High court gave three months to the Kerala government to constitute a body, corporate or trust or other legal authority, to take over control of the temple, its assets and management, and to run the same in accordance with all the traditions followed.
HC made a suggestion to let the state police take over the temple security, or assist the existing security personnel employed there.
But, Utradam Varma appealed against the ruling in the top court, which put the HC order on hold
In the recent verdict, Supreme court upheld the customary rights of the erstwhile Travancore family in the administration of the Padmanabaha Swamy Temple in Kerala and sets aside the handing over of the rights of administration to the state government by the Kerala High Court
