Revoke Anti Hindu Devaswom Board Regulations; Plea submitted in Kerala HC

Kochi: A plea has been submitted before the High Court of Kerala seeking to quash the existing regulations of Travancore- Kochi Devaswom Board. The plea submitted by TG Mohandas before the Divisional Bench of the HC has sought to address the issue where devotees and those having deep rooted faith have little importance or say in matters of temple administration. The petition seeks to implement the points recommended by Shankaran Nair Commission report of 1984 which seeks to annul the existing Devaswom laws and implement a new system.

According to the petition, “Hindu MLAs in Kerala’s legislative assembly form only 50% of the total number and therefore cannot be seen as representatives of the entire Hindu population of the state. Many a times, there are non- Hindus who win on a consistent basis from many constituencies. In such cases, Hindus are actually denied rights of suffrage. This is in fact breach of constitution.”

The petition points out that “even though members of the Devaswom are elected by Hindu ministers, the final say is that of the Chief Minister. In short, the opinion and voice of Hindu devotees are never considered.

The petitioner TG Mohandas has also indicated that “the government, in spite of the HC directive of implementing the aspects stated in the Shankaran Nair Commission report of 1984, has not moved a step in the direction.”

The division bench consisting of Justices Thottathil B Radhakrishnan and Anu Sivaraman have directed issuing of notices to the state government and organizations like NSS, SNDP, Hindu Aikya Vedi etc and former Union Minister Dr Subramaniam Swamy.