SC upholds Shebait rights of Travancore royal family in administration of Sree Padmanabhaswamy Temple

Satya Prakash
Tribune News Service
New Delhi, July 13

The Supreme Court on Monday upheld the Shebait rights of the Travancore royal family in the administration of Shree Padmanabhaswamy Temple in Kerala.

Shebait is a person who serves a Hindu deity and manages the temple.

As an interim arrangement, a Bench of Justice UU Lalit and Justice Indu Malhotra approved the continuation of a committee headed by Thiruvananthapuram District Judge to oversee the administration of one of the richest Hindu temples in India where Lord Vishnu (Shree Padmanabhaswamy) is worshipped in ‘Anantha Shayana’ posture.

All members of the committee shall be Hindus which shall take a call on whether mysterious Vault-B of the temple will be opened or not.

The issue has evoked immense curiosity among people due to the widely held belief that it doesn’t augur well for those who dare open it.

The royal family of Travancore has a role as Shebait of the temple, it said. The death of the Travancore ruler who signed the Covenant didn’t affect Shebayatship if the Travancore royal family, it added.

The Bench said as per custom, Shebaiship survived on the death of the ruler and his death didn’t result in escheat in favour of state government despite the 26th amendment to the Constitution that abolished privy purse paid to former rulers of princely states which were incorporated into the Indian Republic after Independence.

Monday’s order came on a petition filed by the erstwhile royal family of Travancore— trustee of the temple—against the Kerala High Court’s January 31, 2011 verdict directing the state government to set up a trust to take control of the temple management and its assets.

Allowing the appeal filed by the Travancore Royal Family Maharaja, the top court accepted Shebaitship of the royal family over one of the richest Hindu temples in India.

The Supreme Court’s verdict effectively means the “Ruler” under Instrument of Accession signed by Princely state ruler with the Government of India at the time of independence is “Ruler” by succession and will not end with the death of the ruler who signed the instrument of accession.

Shree Padmanabhaswamy Temple has been hitting international headlines since 2011 when an SC-appointed panel found jewellery, idols, weapons, utensils and coins worth Rs one lakh crore in its five other vaults. But Vault-B—believed to be protected by cobras—wasn’t opened.

However, former Comptroller and Auditor General Vinod Rai— who audited the temple’s wealth on the top court’s order—had in 2014 contradicted the popular belief.

In his report, Rai had told the court that Vault-B was opened at least seven times since 1990.

Senior advocate and amicus curiae Gopal Subramanium had also supported Rai’s view that there should be verification of the inventory of Vault-B.

Subramanium had alleged that the temple’s wealth was being stolen in an organised manner. He wanted the court to ensure that the royal family of Travancore should be kept away from its management.

He had alleged that the royal family treated a public temple as a private fiefdom. The royal family had denied the allegation.

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