'Active Politicians Cannot Be Appointed As Non-Hereditary Temple Trustees' Says Kerala High Court To Malabar Dewaswom Board

The Kerala High Court has said that active politicians cannot be appointed as non-hereditary temple trustees.

It was hearing a case filed against the Malabar Dewaswom Board regarding the appointment of two members of the Communist Party of India (Marxist)-CPI(M) and one member of the Democratic Youth Federation of India (DYFI), as non-hereditary trustees of the Sree Pookkottu Kalikavu Temple in Palakkad district.

While one of the CPI(M) members, Ashok Kumar is a local committee secretary of the Pookkottukavu unit, the other, i.e., Ratheesh is a branch secretary. The DYFI member, Panjakshan is an area secretary.

In response to the case, Kumar and Ratheesh said that they were not office-bearers of a political party and thus they were not active politicians when they were appointed. Panjakshan contended that the DYFI is not a political party.

To this, the Division Bench of the Kerala High Court said that only active politicians eventually become office-bearers. Regarding the DYFI, it said that as its main area of work was politics, the contention that it is not a political party is not valid.

It then passed an order saying that office-bearers of political parties, politicians, or those participating in the activities of a political party cannot be appointed as non-hereditary trustees.

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) state president, K Surendran, in a tweet said that he welcomed the judgement.

Also Read: Investigation: How A Prominent Hindu Temple In Kerala Is Being Harassed By State Government Officials