Removal of members from Temple Advisory Committee violated principles of natural justice; due process was not followed.

JUDGMENT

K. V. Jayakumar, J.

The above captioned Writ Petition and DBA are with respect to the administration of the Chenganoor Sree Mahadeva Temple. The writ petitioners, one Ratheesh Kumar and four others are former members of the Temple Advisory Committee.

2. The Devaswom Board Application is filed by the Travancore Devaswom Board seeking permission from this Court for the conduct of temple festival of Chenganoor Sree Mahadeva Temple for the year 1201ME commencing from 01.01.2026 by the Ad-hoc Committee consisting of respondent Nos. 2 to 10 in the DBA.

3. The writ petitioners state that they are members of the Temple Advisory Committee of Chenganoor Sree Mahadeva Temple, constituted in accordance with Ext. P1 bye-law. They assumed office on 27.11.2023 for a term of two years, ending on 25.11.2025.

4. The petitioners further state that the Temple Advisory Committee consists of 15 members, of whom 13 are selected by draw of lot, along with the Administrative Officer and the Assistant Commissioner. Ext. P2 is the approved list of members of the Temple Advisory Committee. The petitioners state that the annual festival for the year 2023 was conducted by the Temple Advisory Committee. Following the conduct of the 2023–2024 festival, several meetings were held by the members of the Committee for detailed consideration of the audited accounts, and the accounts were ultimately approved by the Committee on 22.04.2024, as evident from Ext.P8 minutes.

5. It is further stated that the Chenganoor Sree Mahadeva Temple is an ‘Edathavalam’ for the Sabarimala Mandala-Makaravilaku season and the Committee has taken all arrangements to cater to the needs of the Sabarimala pilgrims.

6. The petitioners state that they received Ext.P10 notice dated 30.11.2024 informing them of their removal from the Temple Advisory Committee. The petitioners state that Ext.P11 is the copy of the order dated 29.11.2024 issued by the Travancore Devaswom Board. The petitioners state that Ext.P11 order is a non-speaking order. It is further contended that as per Ext.P1 bye-law, the Board has no power to remove the members of the Temple Advisory Committee; instead, such power is vested solely with the Commissioner.

7. With these assertions, the petitioners approached this Court seeking the following relief:

Issue a writ of certiorari or any other appropriate writ, order or direction calling for the records leading to Ext.P10, P11 and P15 orders and quash the same as illegal.

8. DBA No.11/2025 is preferred by the TDB for permitting the Ad-hoc Committee consisting of respondents 2 to 10, which was approved by this Court vide interim order dated 20.12.2024 in WP(C). No. 43900/2024, for the conduct of the temple festival of Chenganoor Sree Mahadeva Temple scheduled to be held from 01.01.2026 to 30.01.2026.

9. It is stated in the DBA that the Temple Advisory Committee of Chenganoor Sree Mahadeva Temple was constituted on 27.11.2023. Seven members of the Temple Advisory Committee had preferred a complaint before the Devaswom Commissioner on 22.02.2024, alleging that during the temple festival in the year 2023, the President, Secretary and one of the members of the Temple Advisory Committee had misappropriated huge amounts and illegally collected money from the devotees. Accordingly, a vigilance enquiry was conducted and a report was submitted on 11.12.2024. The Board vide Annexure-A1 order dated 29.11.2024 had decided to exclude those persons from the Advisory Committee against whom adverse comments were made in the vigilance report. In Annexure-A1, it is further stated that the other seven members of the T