The Kerala High Court on Monday termed the financial discipline of the Travancore Devaswom Board (TDB) below par and called it unsettling. The HC made the damning remark with regard to the management of records related to the conduct of the Global Ayyappa Sangamam.

The Devaswom Bench rejected TDB's plea to allow more time to present accounts of the event and directed the board to present the full statement of the account opened with Dhanlaxmi Bank for the purpose of the conclave.

The HC also said that the independent auditor shall be impleaded as the 8th respondent in the case. The auditor was directed to place before the court without fail all primary and foundational records forming the basis of the audit, including, but not limited to, bills, vouchers, cash books, ledgers, asset registers, expenditure statements, agreements entered into with vendors, details of final payments effected, and any supporting documentation relevant thereto in connection with the event.

All the records will have to be produced before the court on or before March 6. The TDB informed the court that it has set up a task force to verify the bills submitted by the Indian Institute of Infrastructure and Construction (IIIC) and to clear the anomalies. TDB sought a further period of three weeks to submit the revised report.

The HC, however, said that even for the conduct of a one-day event, the court had granted more than three months time to the Board to place the financial statements on record. "The Board is unable to furnish credible and verifiable data regarding the funds expended and the specific purposes for which such expenditure was incurred, it can only lead to the unsettling conclusion that the financial discipline of the Board and its officers is below par," the HC observed in the order.

The court said that it cannot remain a silent spectator and no more time can be granted to the board. The HC also took note of the fact that the TDB had ignored the request of the Kerala State Audit Department for the submission of the accounts and connected records for audit verification. The Director of the department, told the court that although a reminder was sent in February 2026, the requisite documents and records have not been furnished to the Department.

Earlier, an audit report furnished in the High Court by the Special Commissioner, Sabarimala, R Jayakrishnan, revealed grave lapses in the accounts management of the conclave. The report cited that the works of the event were awarded to the IIIC without following any tender or competitive bidding procedure.

Recently, the Devaswom Minister V N Vasavan told the assembly that an amount of ₹3.12 crore was spent on the event. The IIIC submitted a bill of ₹3crore and the input tax credit of ₹45.76 lakh is reflected in the TDB's GSTR-2B. He said that an amount of ₹5 crore was allocated under Religious convention and discourse in the Devaswom Board budget 2025-26. When the sponsorship fund was being delayed, this amount of ₹5 crore was transferred to the new bank account opened for the Ayyappa Sangamam event at the Nanthencode branch of Dhanlaxmi Bank.