Kerala High Court dissolves temple committee over fund misuse; orders vigilance probe

The Kerala High Court recently directed the Travancore Devaswom Board (TDB) to dissolve the Temple Advisory Committee of the Ashtamangalam Sree Mahavishnu-Sree Bhagavathy Temple in Punalur over allegations of misuse of funds by committee members. [Jijendran SR v. Travancore Devaswom Board & Ors. and connected cases].A Division Bench of Justices Anil K Narendran and Muralee Krishna S also ordered a probe by the TDB Vigilance wing and directed TDB to take over the temple’s administration until the investigation is completed."On completion of the inquiry, the Vigilance Department shall submit the report before the 2nd respondent Devaswom Commissioner, who shall take appropriate action in the matter in accordance with law. Till finalisation of the said proceedings, the administration of the temple shall be done directly by the Devaswom Board by dissolving the present Temple Advisory Committee, expeditiously, at any rate, within a period of one week from the date of receipt of a copy of this judgment," the Court ordered..The order was passed on two petitions, one filed by a devotee of the temple and another taken up suo motu by the Court based on a complaint filed before the Ombudsman for the Travancore and Cochin Devaswom Boards, both raising the same grievances. They sought to quash the Assistant Devaswom Commissioner's order extending the term of the committee by 6 months. It was argued that this violated many of the Devaswom Board's bye-laws. Hence, they sought dissolution of the present committee and constitution a new one.The tenure of the committee was purportedly extended for the purpose of completing work on the temple’s flag mast (kodimaram).However, it was alleged that the committee had already removed the base of the flag mast in October 2024 without informing the devotees or consulting the Tantri, whose opinion was only secured later.It was also submitted that members who had resigned from the committee had withdrawn their resignations without due process.Additionally, complaints were raised about the collection of funds in the name of a co-operative society instead of the name of the temple. Devotees allegedly complained that temple officials were refusing to conduct rituals despite accepting money and issuing receipts.The Court was informed that a vigilance inquiry has since been initiated, but that it hasn't been completed. .Taking note of these developments, the Court directed the Assistant Devaswom Commissioner to forward the complaints to the TDB's vigilance wing within a week. The vigilance wing was directed to complete its inquiry within three months and submit its report to the Devaswom Commissioner for taking further action..Advocate KR Arun Krishnan appeared for the Jijendran.Travancore Devaswom Board was represented by its standing counsel G Santhosh Kumar.Senior Government Pleader S Rajmohan appeared for the state..[Read Order]