The Hindu : Kerala / Kochi News : Melsanthis: court vacates order

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Friday, Oct 31, 2008
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Melsanthis: court vacates order

Kochi: A Division Bench of the Kerala High Court on Thursday vacated its interim order restraining the Travancore Devaswom Board from appointing the newly selected melsanthis of the Sabarimala and Malikappuram temples.

The Bench comprising Justice P.R. Raman and Justice T.R. Ramachandran Nair vacated the order after considering an inquiry report submitted by the Travancore Devaswom Board Vigilance Officer in a sealed cover.

The court had earlier directed the officer to conduct an inquiry into complaints regarding the antecedents of candidates short-listed for the melsanthi posts and submit a report.

N. Vishnu Namboodiri and N Sreekumar were selected melsanthi of the Sabarimala and Malikappuram temples respectively after the High Court allowed the board to draw lots. The court observed that it was vacating the order as the selected candidates did not have any disqualification.

The court was of view that the bylaws were inadequate to ensure that the candidates who applied for the posts of melsanthis did possess the required qualifications.

The Bench also added that the bylaws did not prescribe the methods for ascertaining their antecedents. Therefore, it was proper that guidelines should be formulated.

High Court-appointed observer for the selection of melsanthis K. Padmanabhan Nair had pointed out that there were no provisions in the guidelines for production of a certificate from a tantri to prove one’s ability in performing pujas.

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