Sree Padmanabha Swamy Temple : SC Upholds 'Shebait' Rights Of Erstwhile Royal Family Of Travancore; Hands Over Temple Administration To Committee

The Supreme Court on Monday upheld the rights of erstwhile royal family of Travancore in the administration of Sree Padmanabha Swamy temple at Thiruvananthapuram.Allowing the appeal filed by members of the Travancore family, the top court reversed the finding of the High Court of Kerala that the rights of family ceased to exist with the death of the last ruler of the Travancore in 1991. The death of the last ruler will not result in escheat of the rights in favour of the government.Death will not affect the rights of shebaitship of the family over the deity and they will survive as per custom, ruled the Court. Powers of Ruler of Travancore delegated to Administrative CommitteeThe powers of the 'Ruler of Travancore' under Travancore Cochin Hindu Religious Institutions Act (TC Act) in the matter of the administration of the temple has been delegated to an Administrative Committee, as suggested by the family itself.The family suggested the following composition :a retired Indian Administrative Service Officer of the rank of Secretary to Government of Kerala ("the State Government") to be nominated by the Trustee in consultation with Government of Kerala who shall be the Chairperson of the Committee;one member nominated by the trustee(Travancore family);one member nominated by the Government of Kerala;one member nominated by the Ministry of Culture, Government of India; andthe Chief Thantri of the temple.An Advisory Committee was also suggested with the following composition : A retired High Court Judge who shall be nominated by the Chief Justice of the Kerala High Court and who shall be the Chairperson of the Committee. One eminent person to be nominated by the Trustee; A reputed chartered Accountant to be nominated by the Chairperson in consultation with the Trustee.The Court noted that this composition was "quite balanced" and was not "loaded in favour or against the appellants(family)", when compared to the scheme under the TC Act."As against the administration contemplated by Chapter III of Part I of the TC Act in the hands of the Ruler of Travancore in absolute terms, the course now suggested by the appellants is quite balanced", the Court observed.However, the Court suggested a modification - instead of IAS officer in the rank of Government Secretray to be nominated by the family, the Court said that the District Judge, Thiruvananthapuram should be the Chairperson of the Committee."...the powers of "the Ruler of Travancore" under Section 18(2) of the TC Act shall stand delegated to the Administrative Committee while the Advisory Committee shall be deemed to be the Committee constituted in terms of Section 20 of the TC Act. It is made clear that all the members including the Chairpersons of the Administrative Committee and the Advisory Committee must be Hindus and fulfil the requirements in Section 2(aa) of the TC Act", the Court ordered.The Court has directed the appellant to file an affidavit of undertaking regarding the delegation of powers to the Administrative Committee and accepting the modification of its composition. The affidavit of undertaking will be binding on the successors of the appellants, the Court clarified.The SC also approved the continuation of the interim committee headed by District Judge, Thiruvananthapuram to manage the affairs of the temple till the constitution of a new committee.Notably, the top court has not expressed anything on the opening of the contentious "B Kallara"(Vault B), and has left it to be decided by the committee.A bench led by Justice UU Lalit pronounced judgment in the appeals challenging a 2011 Kerala High Court judgment, which directed the Government to take over control of the Sree Padmanabhaswamy Temple, it's assets and management. The High Court bench comprising of Justices C.N. Ramachandran Nair and K. Surendra Mohan had directed the Government to open all Kallaras (Vaults), make inventory of the entire articles and create a Museum and exhibit all the treasures of the Temple for the public, devotees and the tourists to view the same which could be arranged on payment basis in the Temple premises itself."In our view, there is no purpose in keeping the treasures of the temple acquired by it in the course of several centuries as a mystery..", the HC had observed. A bench comprising Justice Uday Umesh Lalit & Indu Malhotra had finally heard the appeals in April, last year.Senior advocate Gopal Subramanian was appointed as amicus curiae in the matter. Former CAG Vinod Rai was also appointed to audit the records including expenditures incurred for temple's upkeep. In 2011, the inventory revealed an extravagant wealth of approximately Rupees 1 lakh crores, in the form of jewellery, idols, etc, following the opening of five "kallaras"(vaults).The opening of B Kallara was however put on hold, following objections from the family that it will invite divine wrath.Functions of Administrative CommitteeThe court also said that the Administrative Committee and...

Sree Padmanabha Swamy Temple : SC Upholds 'Shebait' Rights Of Erstwhile Royal Family Of Travancore; Hands Over Temple Administration To Committee

Sanya Talwar

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