SC upholds right of Travancore royal family in administration of Kerala's Padmanabhaswamy Temple

The Supreme Court (SC) on Monday (July 13) recognized the authority of the Travancore royalty in the management of the Padmanabhaswamy Temple in Kerala. The SC said in its order that committee headed by the Thiruvananthapuram District Judge will now look into the temple arrangements.

This system will remain in place until the formation of the main committee and the Travancore royal family will play an important role in the committee. The apex court, however, did not say anything about opening the vault B of the historic temple.

"The government welcomes the Supreme Court verdict in Sree Padmanabhaswamy Temple case. It's the government's duty to implement and comply with its verdict," said Kerala Devaswom Board Minister Kadakampally Surendran.

The centuries-old temple, dedicated to Lord Padmanabha, grabbed headlines in in 2011 after it was revealed during an inspection that the four underground cellars of the temple contain gold ornaments, vessels, jewels and precious stones worth thousands of crores of rupees.

The row over the administration and management of Sree Padmanabhaswamy Temple had been pending in the apex court since 2011 over charges of financial irregularities in the management of the iconic temple. 

The iconic temple was rebuilt in its present form by the Travancore royal family in the 18th century. It is to be noted that Travancore royal family had ruled some parts of southern Kerala and some parts of Tamil Nadu before integration of the princely state with the Indian Union in 1947.