Sree Padmanabha Swamy Temple: Supreme Court Extends Time For Special Audit Till August 31

The Supreme Court on Monday extended time till August 31, 2022 for completion of the special audit of 25 years for the iconic Sree Padmanabha Swamy Temple at Thiruvananthapuram, which was ordered by the Court in 2020.A Bench comprising Justices UU Lalit, Ravindra Bhat and Sudhanshu Dhulia granted the extension after applications were filed by the Administrative Committee and the Advisory Committee of the Temple seeking additional time to complete the special audit."The request as prayed for is granted. Though the time prayed for, i.e., upto 30th of June, 2022 has already expired, in the interest of justice, we extend the time till 31st of August, 2022 thereafter for reporting compliance."In February, 2022, the court had granted time till June 30, 2022 for completion of the special audit. Last year, in September, the Court had directed the Special Audit of the Trust to be completed preferably within 3 months. The court's direction came in response to an application filed by the Temple's Administrative Committee which highlighted an unprecedented financial crisis, as far as the Temple is concerned and that, it is unable to meet its monthly expenses.The Administrative Committee had said that it was necessary to transfer the income of the Trust to the Temple.During that hearing, the Supreme Court had also rejected an application filed by the Sree Padmanabha Swamy Temple Trust (which is created by the erstwhile Travancore Royal Family) to exempt it from the special audit. The special audit was not intended to be confined to the Temple and included the Trust as well, the court said while rejecting the application. Case BackgroundIn 2020, the Supreme Court had handed over the administration of the temple from the erstwhile Travancore Royal Family to an Administrative Committee headed by a District Judge of Thiruvananthapuram. The Court also ordered the Administrative Committee to initiate an audit of the temple's income and expenses for the past 25 years, as suggested by amicus curiae Senior Advocate Gopal Subramanium. The audit was to be undertaken by a reputed firm of Chartered Accountants. In line with the court's direction, a private CA firm was engaged, which in turn had asked the Trust to submit the income and expenditure records for the past years. In this backdrop, the Trust had approached the Supreme Court, arguing that they were an independent institution formed in 1965 to conduct the religious rituals of the temple and that they have no role in the day-to-day administration of the temple.In a special leave petition filed by the legal heirs of the ex-Travancore Ruler challenging a Kerala High Court judgment, a bench comprising Justices UU Lalit and Indu Malhotra (since retired) had passed the direction in 2020. The Kerala High Court had earlier declared that the royal family has no rights over the temple. According to the HIgh Court, the rights of family had ceased to exist with the death of the last ruler of Travancore, in 1991. The Supreme Court essentially reversed this order. The Supreme Court recognized the "shebait" rights of the ex-royal family but handed over the administration to the Administrative Committee, which was to be headed by the District Judge of Thiruvananthapuram. The Court had also directed the temple to repay to the State Government amount to the tune of Rs 11.70 Crores expended by the State for the security and maintenance of the Temple.

Sree Padmanabha Swamy Temple: Supreme Court Extends Time For Special Audit Till August 31

Rintu Mariam Biju

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