Padmanabhaswamy Temple: SC holds that Shebaitship does not lapse in favour of the State by principle of escheat; Adv. Karthik Jayashankar and his team represent devotees

A Supreme Court Bench, comprising Justice U.U. Lalit and Justice Indu Malhotra, set aside the 2011 verdict of the Kerala High Court, which had directed the state government to form a trust to manage the temple’s administration.

Accepting the royals’ submission that the temple is a “public temple”, the court issued a slew of directions for its transparent administration in the future.

Justice Lalit categorically held that the death of a ruler does not affect the royal family’s shebaitship of the temple. According to the judgment, “Shebaitship was always in the royal family and the Ruler represented the unbroken line of shebait.” Shebaitship does not lapse in favour of the State by principle of escheat (reversion of property to the State).

Senior advocate Krishnan Venugopal represented the royals and some devotees were represented by a team of advocates comprising of P.B. Suresh, Vipin Nair and Karthik Jayashankar – on whether the 26th Constitutional Amendment, which banished rulers and privy purses, would nudge the temple and properties into the hands of the State.

The Supreme Court directed that an administrative committee be set up with the Thiruvananthapuram District Judge as its Chairperson to take care of the daily administration of the temple. The Court has also ordered a second committee to be constituted to advise the administrative committee on policy matters to be chaired by a retired High Court Judge nominated by the Chief Justice of the Kerala High Court. The Court ordered that both the committees should start functioning within the next two months and an executive officer should be appointed without delay.

The Kerala High Court had said the Travancore royal family’s rights ended after the death in 1991 of the last ruler, who had signed the covenant. The top court said the rights of the royal family over the deity did exist and would not cease with the death of ruler.

The Supreme Court said the administrative committee would manage the temple affairs and the Thiruvananthapuram district judge be the committee’s chairperson.

The Sree Padmanabhaswamy temple hit headlines as it was discovered that its vaults contained precious stones and gold worth lakhs of crores of rupees, making it one of the richest temples in the world.