Sree Padmanabhaswamy Temple case: Admin panel all for special audit, but Trust has reservations

New Delhi: The administrative committee of the Sree Padmanabhaswamy Temple has opposed the Temple Trust's demand to exempt it from a Supreme Court-directed special audit.

When the matter came up for hearing in the Supreme Court on Friday, the administrative committee said the special audit should be carried out based on the order issued last July and it should also be clarified as to how much money belonging to the temple is lying with the Trust.

After hearing the arguments of the two sides, Justice U U Lalit reserved the order. Justice Lalit said the order for special audit was issued after opposition arose from certain quarters to the reports of Vinod Rai Committee and amicus curiae Gopal Subamanium.

The court does not intend to interfere in the day-to-day activities of the temple, he said.

The apex court bench, which also comprises Justice S Ravindra Bhatt and Justice B S Trivedi, made it clear that the administrative committee was earlier asked to submit an interim report to ensure that the court’s orders are being strictly complied with.

Senior lawyer R Basant who appeared for the administrative committee informed the court that the temple was going through a deep financial crisis due to log-time curbs over COVID-19. The monthly expenses of the temple is Rs 1.20 crore, while the receipts are only Rs 60-70 lakh.

During the audit conducted by Vinod Rai for the period 2008-14, the Trust was found to possess Rs 2.87 crore in cash and Rs 1.95 crore worth articles. It needs to be found out how much cash belonging to the temple is with the Trust. The temple’s assets also belong to the Trust.

The Supreme Court and amicus curiae had demanded that the temple and the Trust should be subjected to audit. But despite the advisory committee and administrative committee demanding information of accounts for this purpose, the Trust declined their request, he said.

Senior lawyer Arvind V Dattar who appeared on behalf of the Trust said that it was not opposing the audit but the interference of the administrative committee in the matter. The Trust is not under the control of the administrative committee. It was constituted by Chithira Thirunal in 1965 to facilitate the rituals performed by the Travancore Royal family in the temple.

The Trust does not interfere in the day-to-day activities of the temple. There is no case pending in connection with the financial transactions of the Trust. The Trust came into the picture only when the amicus curiae demanded an audit, Dattar said.