Hindu organisations are frowning upon the need for a clean chit from police to be part of temple advisory committees under the Travancore Devaswom board. Besides, the Devaswom board has also amended the bylaw which would empower the board to pursue criminal cases against all the panel members if any instance of financial fraud or money theft is reported.

The Assistant Commissioner, Thirunakkara Devaswom, has issued a notification in accordance with the amended bylaw, causing a stir. It says that the devotees who wish to be part of the panel will have to submit the membership form for 2025-27 along with a police clearance certificate before November 10. The present members have to submit the clearance certificate on November 10 by 8 pm.

Hindu Aikyavedi vice president E S Biju said the issue came to their attention after a notice was displayed at the Thirunakkara Mahadeva Temple asking applicants to submit police clearance certificates. He said that the issue is politically motivated and accused the Board of facilitating the collection of money from devotees through temples and alleged attempts to fill Devaswom temples with Marxist cadres.

“For a large temple like Thirunakkara Mahadeva Temple, which has around 1,000 devotees in the Bhakthajana Mandalam, it will cost around ₹900 in total, ₹100 for the form, ₹700 for the police clearance, and around ₹150 at the Akshaya centre. Devotees will be discouraged from coming forward, and only the power-hungry will apply,” he said.

The Travancore Devaswom Board (TDB) authorities said that the revision of bylaw for the constitution of temple advisory committees was prompted by a raft of financial fraud cases. "We dealt with at least eight major cases involving financial irregularities in advisory panels of temples. As per the system, any account has to be operated jointly by the president and the sub-officer. We noticed that multiple accounts were operated for devious purposes in the name of collecting money for rituals and food distribution. This was done using digital payment platforms, QR code and coupons. It was in the wake of these cases that the Devaswom Commissioner brought in changes which were submitted to the Devaswom bench of the High Court," said TDB President, P S Prasanth.

In order to ensure that people with criminal antecedents do not become part of temple advisory panel, police clearance certificate has been mandated, he said.

The minutes of the board meeting, seen by Onmanorama, shows that as many as 11 key decisions were taken regarding the constitution of the advisory committee. It lays down specific provisions for dealing with fraud. The committees have been directed to collect money only through board-approved receipts and not via digital means. Besides, prior sanction has to be obtained from the Assistant Commissioner and that only sealed coupons shall be used for fund collection.

It has also been directed to transfer the balance amount with the advisory committee to the TDB account after the expiry of the tenure. Sub-group officers have also been directed to report instances of financial fraud to the police and criminal cases will be registered against all the members, the document shows.  

Devaswom Board Commissioner Sunil Kumar B said that the move stemmed from a discussion within the Board. The High Court had earlier directed that no person with criminal antecedents or persons who have not obtained police clearance certificate shall be permitted in any stall on the premises of the temples under the management of the TDB.

The Assistant Devaswom Commissioner and the Administrative Officer were directed to take stern action against the bidders of kuthaka items, who have not obtained police clearance certificate, or who are employing persons without police clearance in their stalls on temple premises.