SC upholds right of erstwhile Travancore royal family in administration of Padmanabhaswamy Temple in Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala

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  SC upholds right of erstwhile Travancore royal family in administration of Padmanabhaswamy Temple in Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala

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Key Points - 

1. Sree Padmanabhaswamy Temple – It dates back to the eighth century but the present structure was built in the 18th century by the then Travancore Maharaja Marthanda Varma. It is built in the unique Chera style of architecture, and its main deity is Lord Vishnu who is found in the Anantha Shayana posture (reclined posture of eternal yoga) on Adishesha or king of all serpents. It is known to be one of the 108 holy temples associated with Vaishnavism in India.
2. The Temple has been in the news since 2011 after the discovery of treasure worth over Rs. 1 lakh crore in its underground vaults.

Verdict  -

1. The SC reversed the 2011 Kerala HC decision, which had ruled the erstwhile royals could not claim to be in control of the Sree Padmanabhaswamy Temple after the amendment (in 1971) of definition of ‘Ruler’ (which abolished the privy purses) in Article 366 (22) of the Constitution of India and directed the state to setup a trust to manage the assets of the temple. 
2. Article 366 (22) reads, “Ruler” means the Prince, Chief or other person who, at any time before the commencement of the Twenty Sixth (Constitutional) Amendment Act, 1971, was recognised as the Ruler of an Indian State or was recognised as the successor of such Ruler but the SC rejected this and said that, as per customary law, the members of the royal family have the shebait rights (right to manage the financial affairs of the deity) even after the death of the last ruler.
3. The directed setting up of an administrative committee with the Thiruvananthapuram District Judge as its chairperson, for its transparent administration in the future.
4. The other members of the Committee would be a nominee of the trustee (royal family), the chief thanthri of the temple, a nominee of the State and a member nominated by the Union Ministry of Culture.
5. The SC also ordered a second committee to be constituted to advise the administrative committee on policy matters to be chaired by a retired HC judge nominated by the Chief Justice of the Kerala HC.
6. The primary duties of the two committees would be to preserve the treasures and properties.

Background -

1. As per the Instrument of Accession the administration of the Padmanabhaswamy Temple was vested in trust in the Ruler of Travancore, since 1949. In 1971, privy purses were abolished. In 1991, when the last ruler of Travancore, C. T. B. Varma, passed away, his brother U. T. M. Varma took over the temple management. This created a furore that he had no legal right to claim the control or management of the temple but the royal family continued to manage the affairs of Sree Padmanabhaswamy Temple till the Kerala HC in 2011 ruled that the family cannot continue to exert its shebait rights.

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