The main legal point established in the judgment is that the President, as the sole surviving member of the Cochin Devaswom Board, cannot discharge the functions of the Board and has no authority to do so.

AR. LAKSHMANAN, Actg. C. J. :- These two contempt of Court cases filed by one C. Murari against the Secretary and President of the Cochin Devaswom Board was heard by a Division Bench comprising of P. K. Balasubramanyan and G. Sasidharan, JJ. The Division Bench has referred the following question of law to a Full Bench for decision, which was in turn referred to a Fuller Bench by the Ag. Chief Justice on 30-5-1999.

"Whether on the scheme of the Travancore-Cochin Hindu Religious Institutions Act, one alone of the three members elected or nominated to the Cochin Devaswom Board could function or administer the institutions of the Devaswom as the Board or on behalf of the Board and even if he could so function, what would be the extent of his power and what if any would be the restrictions or limitations on his power?"

2. The cause of action for the first contempt petition C.C.C. No. 211/99 is the judgment passed by a Division Bench comprising of AR. Lakshmanan and S. Kirshnan Unni, JJ. in C.D.B. No. 1 of 1999 and O.P. No. 6974 of 1998 dated 7-4-1999 in which the Division Bench, after carefully perusing the records placed before it, was of the opinion that one C. V. Subramanian, is the best suited person to be selected and appointed as Devaswom Commissioner for the Cochin Devaswom Board with immediate effect on deputation initially for a period of three years and that his extension will be considered depending upon the performance of the Officer. In that case a panel of three Government Officers for being appointed as Devaswom Commissioner in the Cochin Devaswom Board was submitted to this Court on 18-11-1998 to fill up the vacancy by passing appropriate orders. Another affidavit was also filed by the Secretary inviting the attention of the Court to Para 38, Chapter V of the Report submitted by the High Court Commission which has recommended that the Devaswom Commissioner-Cum-Secretary should have faith in temple worship and should be a senior officer of proven administrative ability, who has preferably worked as a District Collector and is of the rank of Additional or Special Secretary to Government in the case of Travancore Devaswom Board and of the rank of Joint Secretary to Government in the case of Cochin Devaswom Board. The Division Bench, after considering the personal particulars of the three names, selected Sri. C. V. Subramanian as the best suited person for the post. According to the petitioner in the contempt petition, who is also the petitioner in O.P. No. 6974/98, the non-implementation of the judgment by the respondent C. N. Vasudevan, Secretary of Cochin Devaswom Board, is wilful and the action on the part of the Secretary in not implementing the judgment is a deliberate action and amounts to contempt of Court.

3. A counter-affidavit was filed by the Secretary to the Cochin Devaswom Board stating that after receiving the judgment by this Court he put up a note submitting for necessary orders and the President noted that the Board is the competent authority to appoint the Secretary-cum-Commissioner as per the recommendation of the High Power Commission and that the President alone cannot take a decision in the matter as per the mandate of Section 73(4). He also directed taking legal opinion. The counter-affidavit has also referred to the notings of the President in the relevant files. It is also stated that pursuant to the directions of the President a review petition has also been filed and that the Secretary of the Devaswom Board has no power to make appointment especially to the post of Commissioner and that he has not committed any contempt of Court.

4. C.C.C. No. 246 of 1999 is filed by the petitioner C. Murari against Advocate Soman Kuruvath, President, Cochin Devaswom Board. It is stated that the non-implementation of the order passed by this Court by the executive authority is wilful and deliberate and amounts to contempt of Court and that the post of Devaswom Commissioner is lying vacant in the Cochin D