Judge takes over administration of Padmanabhaswamy Temple

Thiruvananthapuram, April 27: Acting on the order of the Supreme Court, Additional District and Sessions Judge K P Indira has taken over as chairperson of the new administrative committee of the Sree Padmanabhaswamy Temple here.

The apex court had on Thursday ordered that the grand temple, controlled by the Travancore Royal family for centuries, be brought under the administration of a five-member panel headed by the District Judge.

Since the district judge here is a non-Hindu, the charge was handed over to the Additional District Judge as the immediate junior judicial officer as such an option had been suggested by the apex court.

Indira took over as the chairperson of the new administrative committee last evening. The judge will act as the head of the panel which would consist of the temple 'tantri' (traditional high priest), 'nambi' (chief priest) and two other members to be nominated in consultation with the state government and the royal family.

The court had appointed senior IAS office K N Satheesh as executive officer of the temple. Satheesh is now on election duty in Andhra Prdesh.

The interim order was issued after considering the report of the amicus curiae Gopal Subaranaim in the case, whose report brought out alleged irregularities in the management of the temple, whose vaults contain immense wealth.

The court had also appointed former Comptroller and Auditor General Vinod Rai to head an expert team for undertaking an audit of the temple wealth.

PTI