Sree Padmanabha Swamy Temple Management Dispute : Background & Timeline

The Padmanabhaswamy temple is a Hindu temple located in Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, the presiding deity of which is Padmanabhaswamy (Lord Vishnu) enshrined in the "Anantha Shayana" posture.As the Supreme Court is set to pronounce the judgment in the case relating to Padmanabha Swamy Temple administration dispute tomorrow, this piece intends to throw light on the history of the temple and the genesis of dispute over management of the temple. Pre-Accession HistoryBefore under the direct control of Anizhal Thirunal Marthanda Varma, the then ruler who established modern Travancore state, the temple was under the management of 'Ettarayogam' (a group of eight and a half). The structure of Ettarayogam comprises of Seven potties, who are Brahmins ,one Nair Chieftain and the King. In the administration of the temple, the role of the king was very minimal. The Potties would control the temple and the "Ettuveetil pillamars" (the 8 Nair chieftains belonging to eight big families spread over in different villages of the State) ,would manage the properties of the temple. The historic accounts reveals that the king was always in daggers drawn with the potties and pillamars and the temple even remained closed for more than five years out of this dispute. After the tenure of Marthanda Varma, based on the advice received from Colonel Monroe ,a British resident in Travancore, the properties of the temples were brought under the direct control of the state from the rulers of the royal family.Agreement of Accession and TCHRI Act Agreement of Accession signed between the two Princely States Cochin and Travancore represented by the kings with the Government of India as a party came into force with effect from 1.8.1949. As per the agreement, all the temples which were under the control and management of the erstwhile Princely States of Travancore and Cochin, after merger of the two Princely States went under the control of the Travancore and Cochin Devaswom Board. However, under the Agreement of Accession,9, the administration of the Sree Padmanabha Swamy Temple was "vested in trust" in the Ruler of Travancore. Later by operation of Section 18(2) of the TC Act, the management of the Temple continued to be vested in Trust in the last Ruler of Travancore. The last Ruler of Travancore, until his death on 20.7.1991 continued to manage the Sree Padmanabhaswamy Temple by virtue of powers conferred on him under Section 18(2) of the TC ActDisputes Over Management Begins Even after the death of the last Ruler, the state allowed the management of the Padmanabha Swamy Temple to be taken over and retained by the Uthradam Thirunal Marthanda Varma, the brother of the last Ruler after the latter's death. After Marthanda Varma made a claim regarding the treasures of the Padmanabha Swamy Temple are the family properties of the erstwhile Royal Family of Travancore, Several devotees approached Civil Courts in Trivandrum filing Suits for declaration and for injunction.Proceedings Before the HC Uthradam Thirunal Marthanda Varma and some others approached the High Court in this matter. The court clubbed the cases together and considered the issue whether the younger brother of the last Ruler of Travancore could after the death of the last Ruler on 20.7.1991 claim to be the "Ruler of Travancore" within the meaning of that term contained in Section 18(2) of the Travancore-Cochin Hindu Religious Institutions Act, 1950 to claim ownership, control and management of the ancient and great Temple in Kerala namely, the Sree Padmanabha Swamy Temple located at Trivandrum."Ruler" is not a status that could be acquired through succession Answering this issue against Uthradam Thirunal Marthanda Varma , the Court held that the "Ruler" is not a status that could be acquired through succession and therefore, after death of the last Ruler on 20.7.1991, there is no Ruler in the erstwhile State of Travancore. It further held that Uthradam Thirunal Marthanda Varma cannot step into the shoes of the last Ruler to claim management of the Sree Padmanabhaswamy Temple by relying on the powers conferred under Section 18(2) of the TC Act.Directives to Government to Take Over Temple The High Court bench(Justices C N Ramachandran Nair and K Surendra Mohan) then proceeded to consider what should be done to save the Temple and to protect the interest of the devotees and the public at large who have great faith in this Great Temple. In this regard, the bench issued the following directives: i) There shall be a direction to the State Government to immediately take steps to constitute a body corporate or trust or other legal authority to take over control of the Sree Padmanabhaswamy Temple, it's assets and management and to run the same in accordance with all the traditions hitherto followed. This shall be done within a period of three months from now. ii) There will be an order of injunction against the members of the erstwhile royal family against opening of ...

Sree Padmanabha Swamy Temple Management Dispute : Background & Timeline

Ashok Kini

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