C. M. Purushothaman Nair v. Travancore Devaswom Board and Others

# **`IN THE HIGH COURT OF KERALA AT ERNAKULAM`** # **`PRESENT`** ``` THE HONOURABLE MR.JUSTICE ANIL K. NARENDRAN ``` ``` & ``` ``` THE HONOURABLE MR.JUSTICE P.G. AJITHKUMAR WEDNESDAY, THE 17[TH] DAY OF AUGUST 2022 / 26TH SRAVANA, 1944 ``` **==> picture [174 x 13] intentionally omitted <==** ``` PETITIONER: ``` ``` C. M. PURUSHOTHAMAN NAIR, AGED 67 YEARS, S/O. G. MANIYAN, NANDANAM (KUNNUMPURATH), THURAVOOR SOUTH P.O., CHERTHALA, ALAPPUZHA, PIN – 688 532 ``` ``` BY ADVS. B.PRAMOD BIJU VIGNESWAR ASWATHI SURESH AYYAPPADAS V ``` ## **`RESPONDENTS:`** - **`1 TRAVANCORE DEVASWOM BOARD, DEVASWOM HEAD QUARTERS, NANTHANCODE, KAWDIAR POST, THIRUVANANTHAPURAM, KERALA REP. BY ITS SECRETARY., PIN – 695 003`** - **`2 THE COMMISSIONER, TRAVANCORE DEVASWOM BOARD, DEVASWOM HEAD QUARTERS, NANTHANCODE, KAWDIAR POST, THIRUVANANTHAPURAM, KERALA, PIN – 695 003`** 2 ## W.P.(C)NO.26385 OF 2022 - **`3 THE ASSISTANT COMMISSIONER, TRAVANCORE DEVASWOM BOARD, VAIKOM, VAIKOM,, PIN – 686 141`** - **`4 THE ADMINISTRATIVE OFFICER, THURAVOOR MAHAKSHETRAM, THURAVOOR P.O., CHERTHALA, PIN – 688 532`** ``` THIS WRIT PETITION (CIVIL) HAVING COME UP FOR ADMISSION ON 17.08.2022, THE COURT ON THE SAME DAY DELIVERED THE FOLLOWING: ``` 3 W.P.(C)NO.26385 OF 2022 ## **JUDGMENT** ## **Anil K. Narendran, J.** The petitioner is a devotee of Narashimha Moorthy and Sudarsanam, the deities of Thuravoor Mahadeva Kshethram, under the management of the 1[st] respondent Travancore Devaswom Board, who has filed this writ petition under Article 226 of the Constitution of India, seeking a writ of mandamus commanding the respondents to take urgent steps for the constitution of the Temple Advisory Committee of that temple. The grievance of the petitioner is the delay in the constitution of Temple Advisory Committee of that temple, as per the statutory mandate of Section 31A of the Travancore-Cochin Hindu Religious Institution Act, 1950. 2. Heard the learned counsel for the petitioner, the learned Standing Counsel for Travancore Devaswom Board for the respondents. 3. Travancore-Cochin Hindu Religious Institutions Act, 1950 enacted by the State Legislature makes provision for the administration, supervision and control of incorporated and unincorporated Devaswoms and of other Hindu Religious 4 W.P.(C)NO.26385 OF 2022 Endowments and Funds. As per sub-section (3) of Section 1 of the Act, substituted by the Kerala Adaptation of Laws Order, 1956, Part I of the Act shall extend to Travancore, Part II of the Act shall extend to Cochin and Part III of the Act shall extend to the whole of the State of Kerala, excluding the Malabar District. Section 3 of the Act deals with vesting of administration in Board. As per Section 3, the administration of incorporated and unincorporated Devaswoms and of Hindu Religious Endowments and all their properties and funds as well as the fund constituted under the Devaswom Proclamation, 1097 M.E. and the surplus fund constituted under the Devaswom (Amendment) Proclamation, 1122 M.E. which were under the management of the Ruler of Travancore prior to the first day of July, 1949, except the Sree Padmanabhaswamy Temple, Sree Pandaravaka properties and all other properties and funds of the said temple, and the management of all institutions which were under the Devaswom Department shall vest in the Travancore Devaswom Board. 4. Section 31A of the Act deals with the formation of the Temple Advisory Committees. As per sub-section (1) of Section 31A of the Act, a Committee for each temple in the name ‘Temple 5 W.P.(C)NO.26385 OF 2022 Advisory Committee’ (name of the temple) may be constituted in order to ensure participation of Hindu devotees. As per subsection (2) of Section 31A, the Temple Advisory Committee constituted under sub-section (1) may be approved by the Board. As per sub-section (3) of Section 31A, the composition of an Advisory Committee under sub-section (1) shall be in such manner as may be prescribed by the rules made by the Board, not inconsistent with any practice prevailing, if any. In terms of sub-section (3) of Section 31A of the Act, the Travancore Devaswom Board framed Rules for the formation of Temple Advisory Committees in the temples under the management of the Board. 5. In **Chandu K. v. Travancore Devaswom Board [2021 (3) KHC 379]** a Division Bench of this Court held that, with the insertion of Section 31A to the Travancore Cochin Hindu Religious Institutions Act the formation of Temple Advisory Committees in temples has become statutory. In the said decision, the Division Bench noticed that, the Travancore Devaswom Board, in exercise of the rule making power under clause (a) of subsection (2) of Section 35 of the Act, has framed rules for the 6 W.P.(C)NO.26385 OF 2022 formation of Temple Advisory Committees in temples under the Travancore Devaswom Board and this Court has approved the draft bye-laws by the order dated 03.11.2011 in DBA No. 153 of 2009. Clause (11) of the Rules deals with the term of office of the Temple Advisory Committee. As per Clause (11), the term of office of the Temple Advisory Committee shall be two years from the date of approval of the election by the Devaswom Commissioner. The Devaswom Commissioner has the authority to extend the term of the committee by one year in case of development works or unavoidable rituals in the temple. The Board will have the power to extend the term by a further period of one year. The term shall not to be extended beyond the period of two years. Thus, the term of the committees is statutorily fixed. The term can be extended by one year or up to two years under certain unavoidable circumstances and no longer. The object of providing duration of office of Temple Advisory Committees in the approved bye-laws is to see that timely elections are held and the constitution of the Committees are not delayed. The power of the Devaswom Commissioner or the Board to extend the term of the Temple Advisory Committee, which is fixed as per the approved 7 W.P.(C)NO.26385 OF 2022 bye-laws, shall not be exercised as a matter of course. They shall call for report regarding the developmental work going on in the temple concerned or the unavoidable rituals to be carried out in the temple concerned and apply their mind to the materials and form a decision as to whether extension of term has to be given or not. 6. During the course of arguments, the learned counsel for the petitioner and also the learned Standing Counsel for Travancore Devaswom Board would submit that based on the approval granted by the 2[nd] respondent Commissioner, the 3[rd] respondent Assistant Commissioner has already issued election notification dated 10.08.2022 for electing new members of the Temple Advisory Committee of Thuravoor Mahadeva Kshethram. The last date for taking membership is fixed as 22.08.2022. Having considered the pleadings and materials on record and also the submissions made by the learned counsel on both sides, this writ petition is disposed of by directing the 3[rd] respondent Assistant Commissioner to proceed with the election notification dated 10.08.2022, in accordance with law, by convening a meeting of the registered Mandalam for electing new 8 ## W.P.(C)NO.26385 OF 2022 members of the Temple Advisory Committee of Thuravoor Mahadeva Kshethram. The entire exercise in this regard shall be completed, as expeditiously as possible, at any rate, within a period of one month from 22.08.2022, since the annual festival of the temple is scheduled to commence on 17.10.2022. Sd/- **ANIL K. NARENDRAN, JUDGE** Sd/- **P.G. AJITHKUMAR, JUDGE** MIN 9 W.P.(C)NO.26385 OF 2022 ## **`APPENDIX OF W.P.(C)NO.26385/2022`** ## **`PETITIONER’S EXHIBITS:`** ## **`Exhibit1`** ``` TRUE COPY OF THE RULE FRAMED BY THE 1ST RESPONDENT REGARDING THE CONSTITUTION AND FUNCTIONING TO TEMPLE ADVISORY COMMITTEE ``` ``` Exhibit2 ``` ``` TRUE COPY OF THE PROCEEDINGS DATED 12.10.2018 OF THE 1ST RESPONDENT RECOGNIZING AND APPROVING THE MEMBERS OF THE TEMPLE ADVISORY COMMITTEE ``` ``` Exhibit3 ``` ``` TRUE COPY OF THE COMMON JUDGMENT DATED 05.09.2018 IN W.P.(C) NO.20676/2016 & DBP NO.52/2018 PASSED BY THIS HON'BLE COURT ``` ## **`Exhibit P4`** ``` TRUE COPY OF THE JUDGMENT DATED 07.05.2021 IN W.P.(C) NO.10868/2021 PASSED BY THIS HON'BLE COURT ``` ``` Exhibit5 ``` ``` TRUE COPY OF THE ORDER DATED 12.08.2021 R.P.NO. 448/2021 PASSED BY THIS HON'BLE COURT ```