Kochi: The Kerala High Court has flagged alleged misappropriation of funds by Administrative Officers of the Travancore Devaswom Board (TDB) over the past 10 years in connection with the procurement of items required for the 'Ashtabhishekam' ritual at the Sabarimala temple.

'Ashtabhishekam' is a sacred ritual in which the deity's idol is ceremonially bathed with eight auspicious substances.

A Division Bench comprising Justice Raja Vijayaraghavan V and Justice K V Jayakumar was hearing a suo motu petition initiated on the basis of a report submitted by the Sabarimala Special Commissioner, which alleged financial irregularities and fund misappropriation by TDB Administrative Officers over the past decade.

The report states that of the eight items required for Ashtabhishekam, five (panchamritham, ghee, honey, basmam, kalabham) are sourced from the Devaswom store, whereas three items (milk, tender coconut, and panineer) are procured by the Administrative Officer in-charge. For procuring these items, the Officer would claim a sum of ₹300 per ashtabishekam without using any bill or any valid purchase vouchers to substantiate the expenditure.

The Court noted that the Vigilance Officer's report in this regard highlighted that there was no justification in sourcing only three items from outside while the other five were obtained from the store. The report also stated that by merely examining the accounts relating to six 'Masa Poojas', the amount involved came to ₹5.15 lakh.

During the hearing, the court also observed that several TDB officials were posted at Sabarimala in the same or related positions for extended periods, noting that such prolonged tenure was not conducive to the efficient functioning of the temple administration.

"We find that most of the top-level officers have been stationed at Sanidhanam itself for the past several years and they have been occupying one post or the other. This may not augur well for the better functioning of the Sannidhanam temple," the court said, also directing the board to file a statement detailing the tenure of each officer and the period during which they were stationed exclusively at Sannidhanam in various capacities.

The Court also noted reports that the accused in two cases related to the alleged misappropriation of gold from Sabarimala had earlier served as Executive and Administrative Officers at the temple. “The vigilance officer further reported that if the State Audit had conducted a proper audit with regard to the conduct of Ashtabhishekam for the last 10 years, these issues would have come to light,” the court observed.

The Special Commissioner’s report also alleged irregularities in the procurement of materials for rituals at Sabarimala. According to the report, the Administrative Officer had been claiming purchases of pooja materials from a supplier, Sunil Kumar, for Nithyanidhana pooja at Sabarimala and for use in the Ganapathi shrine at Malikappuram, without issuing receipts or properly recording the items in official registers.

The court noted that the supplier reportedly spends around ₹3 lakh for monthly poojas and nearly ₹18 lakh during the Mandala-Makaravilakku season, while also supplying large quantities of jaggery stored in a room adjacent to the Administrative Officer’s office.

Observing that the continued procurement of materials from a single individual without proper authorisation could lead to corruption, the court questioned the lack of records for the supplied items and the storage arrangements.

The bench directed the State, Travancore Devaswom Board, Devaswom Commissioner, Executive Officer, Police Coordinator and Chief Vigilance and Security Officer to submit a report detailing the purchase of pooja materials under Store Purchase Rules and the guidelines governing such procurement.

The State Audit Department was also directed to conduct an audit of accounts related to Ashtabhishekam over the past 10 years and submit a report on whether the Devaswom Board incurred any financial loss.

(With LiveLaw inputs)