Erstwhile Travancore royal family welcomes SC verdict on Sree Padmanabha Swamy temple

Kerala Devaswom Minister Kadakampally Surendran said on Monday that the state government respects the apex court judgement upholding rights of the erstwhile Travancore royal family in the administration of the Padmanabha Swamy temple in Thiruvananthapuram, and will implement it.

"The state government respects the apex court order. We still need to analyse the Supreme Court order. The detailed order is yet to come. We will implement the Supreme Court verdict," Minister Kadakampally told the media.

The government respects the verdict, he said.

Upholding the rights of the erstwhile Travancore royal family, the apex court on Monday set aside the 2011 verdict of the Kerala High Court which had directed the state government to set up a trust to take control of the management and assets of the famed temple, considered one of the richest shrines in the country.

Read: SC upholds erstwhile Travancore royal family's admin rights over Sree Padmanabhaswamy Temple

Welcoming the verdict, the erstwhile Travancore royal family said that they were happy with the judgement.

In a video message, members of the family said, "We regard today's Supreme Court verdict as the blessing of Padmanabha Swamy not just for the family, but for all his devotees."

"We pray for his continued benevolence on all humanity to keep us all safe and well. Thank you all who stood by us in these difficult years. God bless you,” a senior member of the family, Gowri Parvathi Bayi, said.

A bench headed by Justice UU Lalit said that as an interim measure, the District Judge of Thiruvananthapuram will head an administrative committee to manage the affairs of the temple.

The top court delivered the verdict on a batch of appeals, including the one filed by the legal representatives of the erstwhile royal family, challenging the January 31, 2011 verdict of the high court in the matter.

The sprawling temple, an architectural splendour in granite, was rebuilt in its present form in the 18th century by the erstwhile Travancore royal family which had ruled southern Kerala and some adjoining parts of Tamil Nadu before integration of the princely state with the Indian Union in 1947.