KOCHI: The Kerala High Court has observed that there are "deep-rooted systemic deficiencies" in procedure, supervision, stock accounting, and financial control in the Travancore Devaswom Board (TDB) with regard to sacred offerings at the Sabarimala temple.
It said that the time has come for the TDB to put in place a comprehensive, transparent, and accountable framework, to ensure that the legitimate income of the Board is duly safeguarded and "not allowed to be drained away through leakage, pilferage, or mismanagement".
A bench of justices Raja Vijayaraghavan V and K V Jayakumar made the observations after perusing the report of the VACB Special Investigation Team (SIT) probing the alleged misappropriation of funds by TDB employees in relation to the sale of 'Adiya Sishtam Ghee' -- a sacred offering sold to devotees at the Lord Ayyappa shrine at Sabarimala.
The SIT, comprising officers of the Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau (VACB), told the bench that it has registered a case under the relevant provisions of the Prevention of Corruption Act and the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita against 33 people, which include temple special officers and around 30 counter staff.
The bench directed the SIT to proceed with its probe and try to complete its investigation within 45 days.
After perusing the findings in the report, the bench said,"..we find the existence of several anomalies which are symptomatic of deep-rooted systemic deficiencies. These deficiencies, in our considered view, require to be addressed by the Board on an emergent footing."
"These are not isolated irregularities but point to systemic deficiencies in procedure, supervision, stock accounting, and financial control," the court added.
It further said that it was "shocking" to note the "callous and casual manner" in which records were maintained, and the income generated from the sale of sacred offerings was accounted for.
"The situation revealed before us is, therefore, wholly unacceptable," the bench said.
The court directed that the Board shall ensure that all income generated through the sale of prasadam items -- including but not limited to Appam, Adiya Sishtam Ghee, Aravana, Vibhoothi, Kumkum, and other sacred offerings -- is brought under a fully accountable and transparent financial and administrative framework.
The court also laid down a comprehensive framework to ensure that the offerings by countless devotees were "treated with the sanctity and fiduciary responsibility" and the revenue legitimately accruing to the Board was duly protected and accounted for.
The court suggested that a standardised end-to-end procedure be put in place to govern each stage of the process starting from the quantity of offerings, such as ghee, by devotees on a daily and seasonal basis and ending with the remittance of the sale proceeds.
It directed that the framework be put in place forthwith, and, if necessary, by seeking professional and technical assistance without any delay.
"We have consciously adverted to the need for professional assistance, as the materials placed before us reveal that the Board presently lacks the institutional capacity, technical expertise, and systemic machinery required to independently put its administrative and accounting processes in proper order.
"The Board shall therefore place before this court a detailed action plan indicating the manner in which the above directions are proposed to be implemented, together with a clear and time-bound schedule for compliance," the court said and listed the matter for further hearing on February 27.
The observations and directions by the court came in a petition initiated by the court on its own following a report by the TDB's Chief Vigilance and Security Officer pointing out irregularities in the sale proceeds of the 'Adiya Sishtam Ghee'.
The court on January 13 had ordered a vigilance probe into the matter after being "shocked and deeply disturbed" by the alleged misappropriation of funds from the sale of the ghee during the two-month long Mandalam-Makaravilakku pilgrimage season, which concluded on January 20.