JUDGMENT :

P.G. AJITHKUMAR, J.

W.P. (C) No. 23304 of 2021

1. The petitioner is the hereditary trustee of 32 Temples, which are governed by the provisions of the Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments Act, 1951 (for brevity 'HR&CE Act'). The office of the petitioner functions at the Central Devaswom office near Valayanadu Temple, which is one among the said 32 Temples.

2. Going by the averments in the Writ Petition, on 05.10.2021, at around 11.30 a.m. the 2nd respondent along with a Deputy Commissioner and an Audit Inspector, inspected the said Central Devaswom Office. The 2nd respondent did so without giving any notice to the petitioner or his Personal Secretary, who supervises the functioning of the office. During the inspection, which went on till 4.30 p.m. the 2nd respondent and other officials behaved rudely and the whole episode was in the nature of a raid. The employees in the office were not permitted to contact the Personal Secretary of the petitioner or the Administrative Officer, who happened to be away due to illness. Advocate Sri.Rajesh Chandran, the lawyer of the petitioner, reached the office during that time, but he was not allowed to intervene saying that he did not