The responsibility of the electoral college or nominating body to ensure that only persons of integrity, efficiency, and absolute faith in temple worship and belief in God are nominated to the Travancore Cochin Devaswom Boards.

S. Sankarasubban, J.

All the above three Original Petitions are filed challenging the validity of the Travancore Cochin Hindu Religious Institutions (Amendment) Act, 1999 (Act 9 of 1999) and the Ordinances which preceded it and for a declaration that only Hindus having faith in God and Temple worship and who unequivocally affirm the same by filing a declaration to that effect as provided in the unamended main Act are eligible to vote in the election to elect members of the Travancore Cochin Devaswom Boards.

2. Petitioner in O.P. No. 26396/98 has described himself as a Hindu and a staunch believer in God having absolute faith in temple worship. He is the President of Thuravoor Maha Kshethra Bhaktha Jana Samithi, an association registered under the Travancore Cochin Literary and Charitable Societies Act. He was the general convenor of the 15th All India Bhagavatha Sathram held at Thuravoor Maha Kshethram in April, 1998. He is the Executive Committee member of All India BhagavathaSathra Samithi. It is stated in the petition that the Travancore Cochin Hindu Religious Institutions Act, 1950 (hereinafter referred to as 'the Principal Act') was enacted since it was found necessary to make provision for the administration, supervision and control of incorporated and unincorporated Devaswoms and other Hindu Religious Endowments and Funds.

3. The involvement of the persons, who administer or supervise or control the temple is contemplated under the principal Act. The persons bestowed with duty to administer must have faith in God and in temple worship. It is only in such of those, who believe in God and temple worship that the administration can be vested. The Principal Act does not contemplate vesting of powers with a Board consisting of Hindus having no faith in God and temple worship. Thus, only those Hindus who believe in God and temple worship can get nominated or elected or vote at the election of the Devaswom Board. The petitioner then describes the power of the Boards for the purpose of stressing the point that faith in God and temple worship are absolutely necessary to be a member of the Board as also to be a member of the electoral college. It is further stated that the term 'Hindu' occurring in the Principal Act cannot be interpreted to take any person who is a Hindu by birth but not a believer in God and temple worship. According to the petitioner, any other interpretation to the term'Hindu' will violate the guarantee given to the religious denomination under Arts.25 and 26 of the Constitution of India. The petitioner also relies on the Division Bench decision of this Court in Muraleedharan Nair v. State of Kerala, 1990 (1) KLT 874, to fortify these submissions.

4. According to the petitioner, the first respondent, viz., the State of Kerala promulgated Ordinance No. 18/98, true copy of which is produced as Ext. P1 in the Original Petition. Ext. P1 amends Ss.2,4, 5, 61, 63 and 64 of the Principal Act. The effect of the amendment is that the administration can be vested with Hindus, who are not believers in God and temple worship. Ext. P1 poses a real and grave danger to the smooth administration of the religious institutions. The amendment is politically motivated and is promulgated with the malicious intention to fill in the existing vacancies of the Travancore Devaswom Board with persons from the ruling coalition who are not believers in God and temple worship. Ext. P1 ordinance has been repealed by Ext. P2, which is the Travancore Cochin Hindu Religious Institutions (Amendment) Act, 1999 (Act 9 of 1999). The petitioner has also produced Ext. P3, which is Act 3 of 1994. Under this Act, the term 'Hindu' is defined as a person who is a Hindu by birth or conversion into Hindu Religion and professes Hindu Religion and believes in God and temple worship. Under Ext. P3, every Hindu member of the Legislative Assembly of the State of Kerala and every Hindus among the council of Ministers have to give a declaration signed by