Point of Law : Section 31A of Act deals with formation of Temple Advisory Committees.

JUDGMENT :

Anil K. Narendran, J.

The petitioner, who is a devotee of Sree Karthyayani Devi Temple, Cherthala, which is under the management of the 1st respondent Travancore Devaswom Board, has filed this writ petition under Article 226 of the Constitution of India, seeking a writ of mandamus commanding respondents 3 and 4, namely, the Sub Group Officer, Sree Karthyayini Devi Temple, Cherthala and the Temple Advisory Committee of that temple to see that no dancing or singing of obscene songs is performed in the premises of Sree Karthyayani Devi Temple, Cherthala during the Pooram festival on 04.04.2023. The petitioner has also sought for a writ of mandamus commanding the 5th respondent Station House Officer, Cherthala Police Station, to maintain law and order and ensure the orderly conduct of the Pooram festival on 04.04.2023 in Sree Karthyayani Devi Temple, Cherthala, by deploying a sufficient number of Police personnel in the temple premises.

2. Going by the averments in the writ petition, the annual festival of Sree Karthyayani Devi Temple, Cherthala lasts for 8 days. The 5th, 6th and 7th days of the festival are known as ‘Ayilyam Maholsavam’, ‘Makam Maholsavam’ and ‘Pooram Maholsavam’. The document marked as Ext.P1 is a printout of the information published by the Kerala Tourism Department in its official website regarding the annual festival in Sree Karthyayani Devi Temple. In the writ petition, it is alleged that, in connection with Ayilyam Maholsavam there is observance of a custom known as ‘Ayilyam Padayani’ (a kind of procession), which starts from a nearby place and ends in the temple premises. Male devotees would join the procession by dancing to the rhythm of percussion instruments. In connection with Makam Maholsavam, there would be observance of a similar custom known as ‘Makam Padayani’, which starts from another place and ends in the temple premises. There would be observance of a custom known as ‘Pooram Vela Thullal’ on the Pooram Maholsavam day. That procession also starts from a nearby temple and ends in the temple premises. In Pooram Vela Thullal, devotees would be singing songs playfully abusing the Goddess to commemorate the way in which the idol was consecrated in the temple long back. But this practice/custom would be confined to a place away from the temple premises and will not be allowed to be performed in the precincts of the temple. In fact, a place, which is away from the temple has been earmarked for the performance of this custom and that place is separated by the erection of stones known as ‘Poorakallu’. But, sometimes in the past, this performance of ‘Pooram Vela Thullal’ had crossed the limits of morality and decency and the timely intervention of Devaswom Board officials and Police ensured orderly conduct of the festival. Document marked as Ext.P2 is the notice published in connection with the annual festival in Sree Karthyayani Temple for the current year. The festival commenced on 29.03.2023 and ended on 05.04.2023. During the current year, on the Ayilyam and Makam Maholsavam, which were on 02.04.2023 and 03.04.2023 respectively, groups of inebriated youth came in large numbers and started singing explicitly obscene and vulgar songs and dancing in the ‘Anapanthal’ in front of sanctum sanctorum. These groups of youth rang the temple bells incessantly to the rhythm of the songs. This disorderly behaviour, which lasted for hours during the night, affected the serene atmosphere in the temple and caused much inconvenience and hardship to the devotees, especially women devotees. Many of those youth were wearing shoes/sandals, the use of which is prohibited in the temple compound. They came after consuming alcohol and even drugs and they were behaving in an uncontrolled and unruly way. The document marked as Ext.P3 are few photographs showing the disorderly behaviour of youths in front of the sanctum sanctorum. The 3rd respondent Sub Group Officer or the 4th respondent Temple Advisory Committee did n