In the suo motu proceedings initiated by the Kerala High Court regarding the matter of the Travancore Devaswom Board, a Sabarimala Special Commissioner Report was heard, and a Division Bench of Justice Raja Vijayaraghavan V and Justice K.V. Jayakumar issued comprehensive guidelines for effective and prompt reporting of lapses in the religious institutions.
The report concerned the periodical status report of the Chief Vigilance Officer, wherein the Special Commissioner, Sabarimala, identified various instances of vigilance inspections conducted regarding malpractices, unauthorized absence of temple staff, and misconduct by employees of other temples under the Travancore Devaswom Board.
The Travancore Devaswom Board submitted that, upon receipt of a periodical status report, the Board would discuss and deliberate on the same to initiate disciplinary action. However, the amicus curiae contended that if the status reports are submitted directly to the Board, the Special Commissioner would not receive real-time information regarding discrepancies, lapses, and misconduct.
The Court considered the submissions as well as various orders passed previously, and stated that, as per the directions of this Court, the present practice followed by the Board is that a comprehensive periodical status report by the vigilance wing detailing all lapses taking place in six months is directly submitted to the Board. It was said that if a single status report is submitted by the vigilance wing of all temples under the control of the Board, it would cause hardship not only to the Board, but also to the Special Commissioner and the Devaswom bench of this Court.
The Court stated that whenever misconduct or malpractice comes to the vigilance wing’s notice, there should be a mechanism to promptly report the matter to the Board. It was stated that, in the absence of such prompt reporting, the Board may be unable to take effective measures to rectify the lapses by initiating proper remedial measures in accordance with the law to ensure transparency and to prevent corruption in the temples.
Thus, the Court issued a set of comprehensive guidelines for an effective and prompt reporting of the lapses in the religious institutions:
1. The lapses, malpractices, and misconduct, if any, brought to the notice of the Vigilance Wing of the Board exclusively for the Sabarimala Sree Dharma Sastha Temple, and those relating to other temples under the control of the Board shall be addressed separately.
2. The periodic status reports shall be submitted to the Board on a quarterly basis to ensure a continuous and diligent commitment to transparency, accountability, and operational efficacy.
3. January 1 to March 31 is to be treated as 1st Quarter, April 1 to June 30 as 2nd Quarter, July 1 to September 30 as 3rd Quarter, and October 1 to December 31 as 4th
4. The Vigilance Wing of the Board must focus their surveillance and oversight activities at the Sabarimala temple during the Mandalam-Makaravilakku season and during the first five days of the Malayalam month in which the temple is open.
5. During periods when the Sabarimala Sree Dharma Sastha Temple is closed, the Vigilance Wing shall direct their attention towards the major temples under the control of the Board.
6. Within seven days of the end of each quarter, the Chief Vigilance Security Officer shall submit a comprehensive periodical status report to the President of the Board, detailing all relevant observations and findings for that quarter. A copy of each such report shall concurrently be furnished to the Special Commissioner of Sabarimala.
7. The Board shall consider the report within one month after receiving it and initiate corrective or disciplinary action in accordance with the applicable laws, rules, and regulations. An action-taken report on the Vigilance report shall be submitted to the Special Commissioner, without undue delay.
8. The Special Commissioner shall forward the action taken report, along with his own report, to the Devaswom Bench of this Court in an expeditious manner.
9. This procedure for the submission and review of quarterly reports shall also apply mutatis mutandis to the temples other than Sabarimala.
10. The action reports submitted by the Special Commissioner, along with his report pertaining to each quarter, shall be numbered and placed before the Devaswom Bench as SSCR (ATR) within seven days of its filing by the Registry.
Lastly, while disposing of the matter, the Court clarified that the above-mentioned directives must not be taken to restrict or limit the jurisdiction and authority of the Special Commissioner to report any matter that comes to his knowledge at any time apart from the periodic reporting schedule. It was also stated that the Chief Vigilance and Security Officer must inform the Special Commissioner of any significant matter regarding vigilance concerns related to the Sabarimala temple as soon as such information is received.
Appearances:
For Petitioner – Suo Motu
For Respondents – Mr. G. Biju (SC), Mr. S. Rajmohan (SR GP), Ms. Sayujya Radhakrishnan (SC)
