P.K. Balasubramanyan, J.

This Original Petition filed by the Guruvayoor Devaswom Employees' Association through its Secretary challenges the constitutional validity of S.4(1)(d) of the Guruvayoor Devaswom Act, 1978. When the Original Petition was admitted by the learned Single Judge, the learned Single Judge also ordered that this Original Petition also be listed with other connected Original Petitions which were pending before a larger bench. That is how this Original Petition has come up before us for decision.

2. The famous Guruvayoor temple in the erstwhile Malabar of this State was originally governed by a scheme decree and the provisions of the Madras Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments Act; HR & CE Act for short. In the year 1971 Guruvayoor Devaswom Act, 1971, Act 6 of 1971 was enacted by the Kerala Legislature. Under S.3 of that Act administration, control and management of the Devaswom was vested in a committee constituted in the manner provided by that Act. The Committee was to be known as Guruvayoor Devaswom Managing Committee and it was to be a body corporate having perpetual succession and a common seal. S.4 of the Act provided that the committee was to