Kerala High Court seeks State's response in plea seeking payment of annuity dues to Padmanabha Swamy temple

The Kerala High Court recently sought the State government's response to a plea seeking directions to pay the pending dues of annuity since 2017 for Sri Padmanabha Swamy Temple properties vested with the government. [Shilpa Nair v State of Kerala & Ors.]

A Division Bench comprising Justice Anil K Narendran and Justice PG Ajithkumar issued notice to the State Government and directed the government to file a counter affidavit within three weeks.

The Court issued the order on a petition filed by Shilpa Nair, a temple activist who is also the President of an NGO called People for Dharma.

According to the petitioner, once the Kerala Land Reforms Act of 1963 came into force, over 2,00,000 acres of temple land was taken over by the State of Kerala with the assurance of payment of perpetual annuities, which are essential for the upkeep and maintenance of the temples. The same is reflected in Sections 65 and 67 of the Act.

The petitioner submitted that Section 65 of the Act specifically mandates that against lands vested with government, where a purchase price has not been paid, the institution shall be entitled to payment of annuity in perpetuity from the government.

The lands were vested in the government through the Sri Pandaravaka lands (enfranchisement and vesting) Act, 1971 - with the stated objective of agrarian reforms. The liability of the government was acknowledged when an annuity of ₹58,500 was fixed as yearly compensation for rent lost in 1971.

However, the petitioner claimed that this amount has never been revised since then.

This prompted the petitioner to approach the State Government with a representation requesting a revision of the annual rental compensation to be paid to the temple as per the current market rates.

It sought to fix a nominal rent of ₹25000 per acre per annum as the revised rental compensation which shall amount to ₹ 31.58 crores per annum. Additionally a revision upwards by 25% every four years is also suggested.

The representation also urged the State government to explore the possibility of giving back the land which is presently not being used for any agricultural purposes.

However, since the representation did not elicit any response, the petitioner approached the High Court through advocates J Sai Deepak and Suvidutt Sundaram.

The plea adverted to the decision of the Kerala High Court in Re: Temples in erstwhile Malabar area, which highlighted the need for payment of proper annuity and regular revision of annuity for properties of the temples which are vested with the government.

It was further submitted that the extreme lack of funds completely cripples the respective Temple Boards and administration, which has a direct and adverse bearing on their ability to protect their lands through proper measures.

Moreover, the petitioner contended that since the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic and ensuing lockdowns, the temple has been facing dire conditions as no income can be earned when Darshan was not allowed.

The actions of the government in this regard, or lack of the same, was violative of fundamental rights, it was argued.

"The failure of the Government to discharge its duties has violated the fundamental rights of the citizens and the temple administration through non-payment of compensation and annuity leading to an insufficiency of funds which eventually led to the inevitable inability to run the temple and has violated the fundamental rights of citizens and Temples under Article 25(1) and Article 26," the plea said.

The matter will be taken up after three weeks by which time the State government is expected to file its response.