Caste-based restrictions in the appointment of priests violate constitutional rights to equality and must align with qualifications, not caste.

JUDGMENT

Anil K. Narendran, J.

'Melsanthies' of Sabarimala Devaswom (Sabarimala Sree Dharma Sastha Temple) and Malikappuram Devaswom (Malikappuram Temple) are appointed for a period of one year. Every year, the Travancore Devaswom Board invites applications for appointment of Melsanthies of Sabarimala Devaswom and Malikappuram Devaswom and makes appointments following the procedure prescribed. The notification issued for the year 1193ME (2017-18) is in question in W.P.(C)No.26003 of 2017. The notification issued for the year 1197ME (2021-22) is in question in the other writ petitions, i.e., W.P.(C)Nos. 13823, 13834, 14067, 14136, 14283 and 14484 of 2021. In all the writ petitions, the challenge is against the eligibility criteria prescribed in those notifications that the applicant shall be a ‘Malayala Brahmin’. Since the questions involved are common, these writ petitions were heard together.

1.1. Going by the averments in the writ petitions, the petitioner in W.P.(C)No.26003 of 2017 is working as Melsanthi at Sree Subramanian Swamy Temple, Pallom, Kottayam District; the petitioner in W.P.(C)No.13823 of 2021 is working as Melsanthi at Valavanad Puthenkavu Devi Temple, Pollethai, Alappuzha District; the petitioner in W.P.(C)No.13834 of 2021 is working as Melsanthi at Sree Ambikavilasom Arayankavu Devi Temple, Panavally, Alappuzha District; the petitioner in W.P.(C)No.14067 of 2021, who is a qualified Priest, is working at Sree Mahadeva Temple, Nagambadom, Kottayam District; the 1^st petitioner in W.P.(C)No.14136 of 2021 is working as Melsanthi at Sree Chidambara Temple, Kanjani, Thrissur District and the 2^nd petitioner is working as Melsanthi at Vishnupuram Sree Narasimhamoorthy Temple, Chalakkudy, Thrissur District; the petitioner in W.P.(C)No.14283 of 2021 is working as Melsanthi at Thekkumkara Sree Ardhanariswara Temple, Kumarakom, Kottayam District; and the petitioner in W.P.(C)No.14484 of 2021 is working as Melsanthi at Sree Subramanian Swamy Temple, Pallom, Kottayam District. Going by the averments in the writ petitions none of the petitioners are working as Melsanthies in any temple under the Management of Travancore Devaswom Board.

1.2. Similar are the contentions of the petitioners in W.P.(C)No.26003 of 2017 and W.P.(C)Nos.13823, 13834, 14067, 14283 and 14484 of 2021. In W.P.(C)No.26003 of 2017, it is contended that Malayala Brahmin does not have any special privilege for being appointed as Melsanthi of Sabarimala Devaswom. The grant of such reservation or privilege in Ext.P1 notification for appointment as Melsanthies of Sabarimala Devaswom and Malikappuram Devaswom for the year 1193ME, to the extent of restricting applications from persons who are Malayali Brahmins is arbitrary and illegal. The Travancore Devaswom Board, being a statutory body created under the Travancore-Cochin Hindu Religious Institutions Act, 1950 , the issuance of Ext.P1 notification by the 2^nd respondent Devaswom Commissioner, inviting application to the post of Melsanthi only from Malayali Brahmins, by excluding all other castes from Hindu religion, violates Article 14, 15 and 16 of the Constitution of India. The exclusive reservation for Malayali Brahmin in the matter of appointment of Melsanthi in Sabarimala Devaswom and Malikappuram Devaswom is against the objectives of the Constitution of India. Article 17 of the Constitution strikes at a caste-based practice built on superstitions and beliefs that have no rationale or logic. Article 13 of the Constitution of India lays down that all laws, including pre-constitutional laws, which are inconsistent with or in derogation of the fundamental rights guaranteed by Part III, are void. Such laws include ordinance, order, bye-law, rule, regulation, notification as well as any custom or usage in force in India. In view of the law laid down by this Court inAdithyan v. Travancore Devaswom Board [(2002) 8 SCC 106], there is no justification for insisting that a person of a particular caste alone can conduct