After 25 sessions, the Supreme Court reserved its verdict on April 10, 2019 (File)
New Delhi:
A secret vault in the Padmanabhaswamy temple in Kerala – said to be one of the richest places of worship in the world – will be opened or not, the Supreme Court is expected to rule on Monday. While the other chambers inside the Thiruvananthapuram temple had been opened and the inventories carried out by a court-appointed team, a vault called Kallara in Malayalam had been closed for years.
The former royal family of Travancore, who ran a trust that managed the temple, maintains that the opening of the vault will bring misfortune due to a mythical curse.
However, lead counsel Gopal Subramanium, who assisted the court as Amicus Curiae, said the trunk had been opened several times in the past.
The Supreme Court will also rule on Travancore family law over temple property and the creation of a Devaswom council to manage its affairs.
The High Court of Kerala had ordered the creation of the council to maintain the temple. The family challenged the order in 2011 before the Supreme Court.
After 25 sessions, the Supreme Court reserved its verdict on April 10, 2019.
The temple is currently managed by a committee chaired by the district judge, as ordered by the Supreme Court. An executive officer manages the affairs of the temple.
According to reports, the royal family is not opposed to the creation of the board of directors but wishes to play a more important role in it.
The security of all secret vaults had been enhanced in accordance with the orders of the Supreme Court.
