KOCHI: In the petition alleging irregularity in the Sabarimala Melsanthi selection, the High Court issued a notice to the newly appointed Melsanthi of the temple, Muvattupuzha Puthillathu Mana P N Mahesh Namboothiri through a special envoy.

Getting into the matter, the high court examined the CCTV footage of the selection draw.

“Some of the selected lot was left open but this cannot be considered solely as a deliberate act to tamper the selection process.” said the court.

A division bench consisting of Justice Anil K Narendran and Justice G Gireesh considered the plea filed by Madhusudan Namboothiri, a native of Thiruvananthapuram, based on the footage of the draw he saw in the media.

The CCTV footage of the draw produced by the Travancore Devaswom Board was examined in the open court yesterday. The court also observed that many pieces of paper in the silver pot were not rolled perfectly and the names were visible, including those drawn by a child of the Pandalam royal family as the deity's representative. The court later discerned this to be the result of repeated shaking of the silver pot.