Cochin Devaswom Board vs Senior Deputy Director
2025 Latest Caselaw 1843 Ker

Kerala High Court

Cochin Devaswom Board vs Senior Deputy Director on 1 August, 2025

Author: V Raja Vijayaraghavan

Bench: V Raja Vijayaraghavan

                                                       2025:KER:57956
DBA No. 6 OF 2025​    ​    ​    ​       ​



               IN THE HIGH COURT OF KERALA AT ERNAKULAM

                                PRESENT

           THE HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE RAJA VIJAYARAGHAVAN V

                                    &

               THE HONOURABLE MR.JUSTICE K. V. JAYAKUMAR

        FRIDAY, THE 1ST DAY OF AUGUST 2025 / 10TH SRAVANA, 1947

                           DBA NO. 6 OF 2025

PETITIONER:

            COCHIN DEVASWOM BOARD​
            ROUND NORTH, THRISSUR - REPRESENTED BY ITS SECRETARY,
            PIN - 680001


            BY ADV K.P.SUDHEER, SC, COCHIN DEVASWOM BOARD

RESPONDENTS:

    1       SENIOR DEPUTY DIRECTOR​
            KERALA STATE AUDIT DEPARTMENT, COCHIN DEVASWOM AUDIT,
            ROUND NORTH, THRISSUR, PIN - 680001

 ADDL.R2    THE TEMPLE ADVISORY COMMITTEE OF SREE VADAKKUMNATHA
            TEMPLE, REPRESENTED BY ITS SECRETARY, SWARAJ ROUND
            NORTH, THEKKINKAD MAIDAN, THRISSUR-680 001

            IS SUO MOTU IMPLEADED AS ADDITIONAL 2ND RESPONDENT VIDE
            ORDER DATED 16.07.2025 IN DBA 6/2025

            BY ADV SRI.L.RAJESH NARAYAN


            ADV. S RAJMOHAN, SR. GP. & ADV. L RAJESH NARAYAN, FOR
            TEMPLE ADVISORY COMMITTEE.

     THIS DEVASWOM BOARD APPLICATION HAVING COME UP FOR ADMISSION
ON 01.08.2025, THE COURT ON THE SAME DAY DELIVERED THE FOLLOWING:
                                                                          2025:KER:57956
DBA No. 6 OF 2025​



                                           2


                                     JUDGMENT

Raja Vijayaraghavan V, J.

This application is filed seeking to grant permission to the Temple Advisory

Committee of Sree​Vadakkumnathan Temple to put up advertisement boards as

sought for in Annexure -10 in compliance with the directions issued by this Court

in DBA No.3 of 2025.

2.​ We find that by order dated 16.07.2025, this Court, after considering

all the facts and circumstances, had observed as follows in paragraph 12 of the

order, which reads as under:

"12.​ The Devaswom Commissioner, Cochin Devaswom Board shall take necessary steps to ensure that proper income is generated by way of exhibiting such advertisements at the places permitted in Annexure-A9 order of this Court dated 20.02.2025 in DBA No. 3 of 2025. The income generated by way of such advertisements shall be kept separately in the appropriate account as per the rules (bye-laws) framed under Section 76A of the Travancore-Cochin Hindu Religious Institutions Act, 1950, the appropriate of which shall be subject to further orders to be passed in this DBA. The Board shall ensure that no nameboards with LED lights as seen in the photographs extracted hereinbefore at paragraph 9 are permitted to be exhibited by the Temple Advisory Committee."

2025:KER:57956 DBA No. 6 OF 2025​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​

3.​ By directing the respondents to act strictly in terms of the directions

above, this application is closed.

      ​    ​

                                                                  Sd/-
                                                       RAJA VIJAYARAGHAVAN V
                                                                 JUDGE


                                                                  Sd/-
                                                             K. V. JAYAKUMAR
                                                                 JUDGE
msp
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DBA No. 6 OF 2025​










PETITIONER ANNEXURES

ANNEXURE A 1           TRUE COPY OF ORDER DATED 16.3.1990 IN

PETITION DATED 14.3.1989 PASSED BY THIS HONOURABLE COURT.

ANNEXURE A 2 TRUE COPY OF JUDGMENT DATED 28.3.2003 IN O.P. NO. 8521, CMP NO. 1808/03 IN DBA NO. 143/02, CMP NO. 1975/03 IN DBA NO. 143/02 AND CMP NO. 1977/03 IN DBA NO. 143/02 PASSED BY THIS HONOURABLE COURT.

ANNEXURE A 3 TRUE COPY OF ORDER DATED 08.07.2013 IN DBP NO. 48/2010 PASSED BY THIS HONOURABLE COURT. ANNEXURE A 4 TRUE COPY OF ORDER DATED 30.9.2013 IN DBP NO.

78/2013 PASSED BY THIS HONOURABLE COURT. ANNEXURE A 5 TRUE COPY OF ORDER DATED 29.7.2022 IN DBP NO.

31/2022 PASSED BY THIS HONOURABLE COURT ANNEXURE A 6 TRUE COPY OF COMMON JUDGMENT DATED 11.4.2023 IN WP(C) NO. 26499/2018 AND WP(C) NO. 4617/2022 PASSED BY THIS HONOURABLE COURT. ANNEXURE A 7 TRUE COPY OF JUDGMENT DATED 18.8.2023 IN CONTEMPT CASE (CIVIL) NO. 1042/2023 PASSED BY THIS HONOURABLE COURT.

ANNEXURE A 8 TRUE COPY OF THE ORDER DATED 09.10.2024 IN DBP NO. 76/2024 PASSED BY THIS HONOURABLE COURT.

ANNEXURE A 9 TRUE COPY OF ORDER DATED 20.2.2025 IN DBA NO.

3/2025 PASSED BY THIS HONOURABLE COURT . ANNEXURE A 10 TRUE COPY OF APPLICATION DATED 03.07.2025 SUBMITTED BY SREE VADAKKUMNATHA KSHETHRA UPADESHAKA SAMITHI TO THE DEVASWOM MANAGER, VADAKKUMNATHA DEVASWOM ALONG WITH A SKETCH OF ADVERTISEMENT BOARDS SOUGHT TO BE PUT UP. ANNEXURE A 11 TRUE COPY OF APPLICATION DATED 05.07.2025 SUBMITTED BY SREE VADAKKUNNATHAN KSHETRA UPADESAKASAMITHI TO THE DEVASWOM MANAGER, SREE VADAKKUMNATHA DEVASWOM ANNEXURE A 12 TRUE COPY OF COMMUNICATION BEARING NO. R2.

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45/2015 DATED 03.07.2025 ISSUED BY THE ASSISTANT COMMISSIONER, THRISSUR TO THE DEVASWOM COMMISSIONER, COCHIN DEVASWOM BOARD. ANNEXURE A 13 TRUE COPY OF ORDER NO. R. 9137/2025 DATED 07.07.2025 ISSUED BY THE DEVASWOM COMMISSIONER.

ANNEXURE A 14 TRUE COPY OF REPORT BEARING NO. C-58/2025 DATED 10.7.2025 SUBMITTED BY THE DEVASWOM MANAGER, SREE VADAKKUMNATHA DEVASWOM TO THE ASSISTANT COMMISSIONER (ESTATE, COCHIN DEVASWOM BOARD