HC bans politicians in temple administrations, order on plea against inclusion of CPM leaders

KOCHI: The high court has banned the inclusion of representatives of political parties in temple management committees. The order was on the plea against the inclusion of CPM local leaders in the Kalikavu temple management committee under the Malabar Devaswom Board.

The order of the division bench also said that in all the temples under the Malabar Devaswom Board, active political activists should no longer be appointed in the temple management committees. Legal experts review that the order is related to the Kalikavu temple management committee elections, but it may apply to other temples in the future.

CPM and DYFI local leaders Ashok Kumar, Ratheesh and Pankajakshan were elected as members of the Kalikavu temple management committee. The court found it invalid. The order stated that active political party officials should not be appointed as non-ancestral trustees of temples. The court also rejected the argument that DYFI is not a political organization. The court also pointed that the provisions of the Malabar Devaswom Board had been violated in the appointment of trustees in the Kalikavu temple.