On Monday, July 13, the Supreme Court reversed the 2011 Kerala High Court judgement after they upheld the rights of the former royal family to run the administration of the famous Padmanabhaswamy Temple in Kerala. The temple was earlier controlled by the state government after the state’s High Court decision.
The tiff around the maintenance and legal rights of the historic temple in the capital city of Thiruvananthapuram has been going on for years. The temple was earlier controlled by Chithira Thirunal Balarama Varma, the last ruler of Travancore. After his death in 1991, there had been a legal question on whether his younger brother Utradam Thirunal Marthanda Varma can control and manage the Padmanabhaswamy Temple administration as the “ruler of Travancore”.
By carefully examining the Travancore-Cochin Hindu Religious Institutions Act, 1950, the Supreme Court decided to allow the Travancore royal family to claim ownership and manage the ancient Sree Padmanabha Swamy Temple.
Along with the controlling rights, the Supreme Court also passed the ball in the court of the royal family to decide whether the mysterious vault be open or not. However, the royal family had argued against the opening of the secret vault or “kallara” as they claim it would bring misfortune to the entire state.
The temple has six vaults underneath the complex, which are said to be filled with priceless treasures. After Kerala’s High Court decision against the royal family, the SC stayed the verdict and constituted two amicus curiae including senior lawyer Gopal Subramaniam and former CAG Vinod Rai. While the team succeeded in five of the six vaults, they failed to open the vault B.
The royal family claims that a mythical curse will bring down the entire state if the vault B will be opened ever. However, they refuse to reveal the curse or talk about it.
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