A Division Bench of the High Court on Wednesday adjourned to next week the hearing on a petition filed by Sabarimala Tantri Kandararu Maheswararu seeking to allow him to take the assistance of his son Kandararu Mohanararu in performing religious rites at Sabarimala.
When the petition came up before the Bench comprising Justice T.R. Ramachandran Nair and Justice K. Abraham Mathew, the counsel for the Travancore Devaswom Board (TDB) reiterated that all aspects of the issue had already been considered and the TDB had rejected the plea of the Tantri. TDB had taken the stand that the Tantri’s son had no adequate knowledge in Tantric rites.
The petitioner said the court had restrained his son Mohanararu from performing rituals at the temple following a criminal case registered on the basis of his son’s complaint. He had complained that he had been held hostage by a six-member gang at a flat in Kochi and was forcibly photographed with women and was being blackmailed. The gang had made off with his money and gold ornaments. Besides, the accused in the case was convicted by the court. The petitioner said his son was barred from performing the rituals only for a year and the said period was now over. So, he sought the permission of the court to take the help of his son.
Management of schoolsA Division Bench held that if the management of an aided school could not select a manager, it was open to the government to take appropriate steps under the Kerala Education Rules to ensure that the school was properly managed.
The Bench comprising Justice Thottathil B. Radhakrishnan and Justice Muhamed Mustaque observed that the State government was providing financial assistance to aided schools and it was the duty of the government to take care of the affairs of the school in such a situation.
The court made the observation while passing an order on an appeal filed by the management of St. Ignatius Higher Secondary School, Kanjiramattom, Kochi.
The Bench said the interests of students and the public were of prime importance as schools got aid from the exchequer. If a duly called meeting could not appropriately select a manager in the terms of the approved scheme, it was high time the government did a rethink on the modalities of managing the school, the court said.
RMP leader’s caseM.P. Damodaran of Edachery, a leader of the Revolutionary Marxist Party (RMP), moved the court challenging an ‘order’ of the District Police Chief, Kozhikode rural, declaring him as a ‘known rowdy’ and thereby preventing his free movement in the Koyilandy and Vadakara taluks for one year.
