'Need To Preserve Temples With Utmost Care' : Supreme Court Appoints Retired HC Judge For Election Of Kerala's Oachira Temple Management

In a plea related to the management and administration of Oachira Parabrahma Temple in Kerala, the Supreme Court  appointed a former Kerala High Court Judge as an Administrator to conduct a fresh election for the administration and management of the subject temple and its allied institutions, in a free and fair manner.

The bench comprising CJI Sanjiv Khanna, and Justices Sanjay Kumar and R Mahadevan considered the temple to be a unique, and historical one and said that it is imperative to preserve and protect the temple and its properties. The Court underscored the importance of free and fair elections in the temple administration under judicial oversight.

“At this juncture, it is to be noted that the subject temple is a unique, ancient and historical one and its area comprises a sprawling of 21.25 acres of land. That apart, it administers/runs a hospital, viz., Parabrahma Super Speciality Hospital & Research Centre, a Nursing College and a Nursing School, to cater to the needs of the general public. In the given facts, it is imperative to restore, protect and preserve temples and their properties with utmost care. It is also an admitted fact that the suit for framing of Scheme for the subject temple is pending before the District Court and stands at the final decree stage. In such circumstances, we feel that it is just and necessary to conduct election under the aegis of a new Administrative Head/ Administrator, for the smooth and effective administration of the subject temple and the institutions thereunder, which proposition has been agreed upon by the learned senior counsel appearing on behalf of all the parties.”, the judgment authored by Justice Mahadevan observed.

The case pertains to the governance of Oachira Parabrahma Temple, a historic temple without a traditional idol or sanctum. Managed under bylaws with a three-tier committee, a 2006 suit sought administrative reforms. Interim measures included appointing an Administrative Head and Advocate Commissioner. Subsequently, the Kerala High Court dissolved the elected Executive Committee, replacing it with an unelected one, leading to these appeals..

In view of the matter, the Court passed the following orders:

"(i) Hon'ble Mr. Justice K. Ramakrishnan, a retired Judge of the High Court of Kerala is appointed as Administrative Head / Administrator to conduct election for the administration and management of the subject temple and its allied institutions, in a free and fair manner.

(ii) The Administrative Head / Administrator so appointed shall commence the election process by finalising the voters' list and publishing the same, etc., and complete 9 the same strictly in accordance with the Bye-laws of the temple, within a period of four months from the date of receipt of a copy of this judgment and thereafter, file his report to this Court.

(iii) The Administrative Head / Administrator can appoint two officers i.e., one in the cadre of District Judge (Retd.) and another in the legal profession, to assist him for speedy completion of the assignment entrusted to him. (

(iv) The Administrative Head / Administrator shall be paid an honorarium of Rs.2,00,000/= per month, apart from reimbursement of all the expenses incurred by him, including travelling expenses, and those incurred towards the discharge of his duties, from the funds maintained by the subject temple. In case, he appoints a retired District Judge and an Advocate for his assistance, the Retired District Judge shall be paid an honorarium of Rs.75,000/= per month and the Advocate shall be paid a sum of Rs. 50,000/= per month.

(v) The Administrative Head / Administrator shall incur all the expenses for smooth conduct of election and administration of temple and its institutions from and out of the funds maintained by the subject temple.

(vi) It is open to the newly appointed Administrative Head to approach the trial Court for any clarification / directions relating to conduct of election, administration and management of the subject temple and its institutions.

(vii) All the parties shall render their assistance/ co-operation to the Administrative Head to complete the election within the time frame as stipulated in clause (ii) supra of this paragraph.

(viii) In view of the order thus being passed by us, the Administrative Head / Administrator / Advocate Commissioner appointed by the High Court, ceases to exist and hence, they are directed to hand over the charge / accounts to the newly appointed Administrative Head / Administrator with immediate effect. The newly Appointed Administrator/ Administrative Head shall manage the affairs of the Temple/Samithis until the election(s) is/ are held and shall handover the charge to the elected body.

(ix) The existing arrangements relating to the functions / duties / affairs of the subject temple and its institutions shall stand continued, until further orders from the trial Court.

(x) The trial Court shall complete the final decree proceedings in the suit filed for framing of Scheme, as expeditiously as possible. The parties shall participate and raise all the issues touching upon their rights, Scheme, etc., before the trial Court in the final decree proceedings.

(xi) The orders impugned herein are modified accordingly."

Appearance:

For Petitioner(s) Mr. Colin Gonsalves, Sr. Adv. Ms. Mugdha, Adv. Mr. Deepak Kumar Singh, Adv. Mr. Rameshwar Prasad Goyal, AOR 

For Respondent(s) Mr. Koshy John, Adv. Mr. M.S. Vishnu Sankar, Adv. Mr. Sriram Parakkat, Adv. Ms. Athira G Nair, Adv. Ms. Viddusshi, Adv. Mr. Aditya Santhosh, Adv. Ms. Anjali Singh, Adv. Mr. Anandhu S. Nair, Adv. M/s. Lawfic, AOR Mr. Anshuman Siddharth Nayak, AOR Mr. Rahul Kulhare, Adv. Mr. Gagan Singh Parmar, Adv. Ms. Ekta Choudhary, AOR Ms. Jeba Khan, Adv. Mr. Anand Krishna, Adv. Mr. Thomas P Joseph, Sr. Adv. Mr. Bijo Mathew Joy, AOR Ms. Gifty Marium Joseph, Adv. Mr. V. Chitambaresh, Sr. Adv. Mr. Atul Shankar Vinod, AOR Mr. R. Krishnaraj, Adv. Mr. Tom Joseph, AOR Dr. Linto KB, Adv. Mr. Satyajeet Kumar, AOR

Case Title: OACHIRA PARABRAHMA TEMPLE & ANR. VERSUS G. VIJAYANATHAKURUP AND ORS., CIVIL APPEAL NO(s). 13708 - 13709 OF 2024

Citation : 2024 LiveLaw (SC) 944

Click here to read/download the judgment