Four families held Tirumala's priesthood by birth and kept the temple jewels in turns; Andhra Pradesh abolished the inheritance in 1987

A.S. Narayana Deekshitulu, one of its chief priests, told the Supreme Court that the office of archaka passed by birth among four families, the Paidapally, Gollapalli, Pethainti and Thirupathanna Garu families, under the rules of the Vaikhanasa Agama. These mirasi rights included temple lands, a share of the offerings for the priests and a percentage of prasadam sales for the cooks. Custody of the jewels, worth several crores, passed to each family in turn once every four or eight years. A state commission headed by Justice Challa Kondaiah recommended abolition. The Act that took effect on 23 May 1987 abolished the hereditary rights of archakas, mirasidars and other office-holders. The priests sued. On 19 March 1996 Justices K. Ramaswamy and B.L. Hansaria upheld the Act and dismissed their petitions. In 1997 the court ordered a commissioner to work out what the families had been overpaid since 1987. In May 2018 the chief priest, A.V. Ramana Deekshitulu, accused temple officials of corruption, which they denied. The board then retired all archakas over 65, including him. He was brought back as "honorary chief priest" in December 2019 and removed again in February 2024 after videotaped remarks against other priests.