HC directs government to constitute commission in devaswom case

Kochi, Jan 2 (UNI) The Kerala High Court today directed the state government to constitute a high-power commission to probe into the corrupt practices of the Travancore Devaswom Board administration.

A Division Bench comprising Chief Justice V K Bali and Justice M Ramachandran passed this order after hearing a writ petition seeking prosecution against president and members of the board.

The commission would be under the chairmanship of former Supreme Court Judge K S Paripoornan and would have former High Court Judge B M Thulasidas and former CBI director D R Karthikeyan as its members.

The court directed the commission to file a report within six months.

The petitioners contended that the functions of the members of the board were totally unsatisfactory, inefficient and incompetent.

The court observed that every rupee donated by the devotees should be utilised for the welfare of the establishments under the board.

The court further said there should not be any unauthorised collection in the name of dieties or devaswom.

UNI