No Political Songs At Temple Festivals, Says Kerala High Court After Row Over DYFI Revolutionary Songs At Temple Fest
The Kerala High Court ordered the Travancore Devaswom Board to ensure that no activities are permitted in Temple premises which affects its sanctity during annual Temple festivals or other festivals. The Court passed the above order in a writ petition filed aggrieved by performance of revolutionary songs of Democratic Youth Federation of India (DYFI), which is the youth wing of CPI (M), ...
The Kerala High Court ordered the Travancore Devaswom Board to ensure that no activities are permitted in Temple premises which affects its sanctity during annual Temple festivals or other festivals.
The Court passed the above order in a writ petition filed aggrieved by performance of revolutionary songs of Democratic Youth Federation of India (DYFI), which is the youth wing of CPI (M), during the Temple festival at Kadakkal Devi Temple in Kollam district on March 10, 2025. The Kadakkal Devi Temple is a temple under the Travancore Devaswom Board.
The Division Bench of Justice Anil K.Narendran and Justice Muralee Krishna S. on viewing the videoclips of the performance conducted in the open stage constructed in the Temple Premises orally said, "Temple festival are for entirely different purposes."
The Court noted that large amounts of money were collected from devotees for constructing the open stage which was fitted with LED lights and flash lights. The Court also stated that devotional songs have to be played in Temple festivals, and not film songs.
"After seeing the video clips, we find that the activities that have been undertaken in the annual festival of Kadakkal Devi Temple on 10 March 2025 is one which cannot be allowed in a Temple premises.....We make it explicitly clear that programs like this cannot be performed in connection with annual festivals or other festivals in Temples," the Court stated.
The writ petition is filed by a devotee, who is also a lawyer, alleging that a person called Aloshy performed political songs by displaying political party's flags in the background during the Temple festival which is hurtful to sentiments of devotees. It is also alleged that the Temple Advisory Committee organised the performance violating the sanctity of the Temple.
The plea stated that Temple festivals are sacrosanct and must not be used as platforms for political agendas. The plea has been filed seeking direction from Court to restrain use of Kadakkal Devi Temple and its premises from any sort of promotion, endorsement or facilitation activities of political parties. It seeks a direction that temple premises must be solely used for religious and cultural purposes.
The Standing Counsel of the Travancore Devaswom Board informed the Court that the Board has directed the Chief Vigilance and Security Officer (Superintendent of Police) to conduct an enquiry and to submit a report. It was also submitted that the Board has issued a show cause notice to the Temple Advisory Committee. The Court has directed the Travancore Devaswom Board to file an affidavit before the Court regarding the steps taken.
Further, the Court directed the Board to file a counter affidavit regarding the money collected from devotees for constructing the stage and conducting the Temple festival.
Court ordered thus, "No organisation or group of devotees to collect money in connection with Temple festivals. Any collection of money should be using sealed coupons of Assistant Devaswom Commissioner with the prior permission of the Travancore Devaswom Board. All such collections must be accounted and subjected to statutory audit..."
The matter is posted to next week for further consideration.
Plea has been moved by Advocate Jomy K Jose.
Case Title: Advocate Vishnu Sunil Panthalam @ Vishnu Sunil v Kadakkal Temple Advisory Committee
Case No: WPC 10893/2025
