Supreme Court To Consider Petitions Seeking The Opening Of Vault ‘B’ Of Padmanabhaswamy Temple In Kerala

The Supreme Court of India has said that it would consider the petitions seeking the opening of the vault 'B' in the Sree Padmanabhaswamy temple at Thiruvananthapuram after hearing all the parties, reports Mathrubhumi.

According to the report, the court announced this while considering a batch of petitions filed by the Travancore Royal family against the Kerala High Court verdict that directed the state to take over the temple.

During the hearing, the state government and other parties requested the court to settle the disputes over opening of vault ‘B’ in the temple.

The Travancore royal family, however, objected the opening of vault 'B' and claimed that such a move could raise issue related to faith and belief. They also asserted that the Padmanabhaswamy shrine is a public temple.

Advocate Krishnan Venugopal, appearing on behalf of the temple trustee Rama Varma, highlighted the Supreme court order on 4 July 2017 that said that the opening of the vault 'B' would only be considered after the final hearing on the case regarding the administration of the temple.

Explaining the historical ties of the royal family with the temple, Venugopal said, "I strongly oppose the High Court verdict which declared that the trustee has no rights over the temple. The king of Travancore had constructed the temple and dedicated the princely state Travancore to Padmanabha Swamy in 1750. Moreover, the king had dedicated himself to the deity."

As per the report, the state government had earlier informed the apex court that legislation is the only solution to settle the dispute over temple administration.