Supreme Court rejects demand not to audit Padmanabha temple

New Delhi: The Supreme Court has rejected the Shri Padmanabha Swamy Mandir Trust's demand for relief from audit for three years as per a court order issued last year. A bench headed by Judge UU Dalit said the audit should be done as early as possible and if it was done within three months, it would be appropriate.

"We have also rejected the request for the first puja," the apex court said. With this it has become clear that this audit is not just an order to keep the temple limited, it also includes the trust.

We don’t want to talk about the issue of entry and worship here. These guidelines are given in pursuance of the Amicus Curiae report in the order issued in 2012. The bench comprised Justices S Ravinder Bhat and Bella M Trivedi.

The executive committee of the Shri Padmanabha Swamy Temple in Kerala said on September 18 that their financial condition had deteriorated drastically. Worship is not done as much as the expenses go out. He then demanded an audit of the Travancore Royal Family-run trust-cum-temple.

All temples in Kerala are currently closed. The monthly cost of this temple is 1.5 crore. We get barely 50 to 60 lakh rupees. So we have asked for some guidelines, ”said R Basant, a senior lawyer appearing for the committee.