KOCHI: Drawn into court for alleged misappropriation of his mother’s savings, Kandararu Mohanaru, the former high priest of Sabarimala temple, informed the court on Monday that he was ready to pay Rs 30 lakh to his mother. Recording the submission, the court closed a petition filed by Devaki Antharjanam, 83, seeking a directive to Mohanaru and his wife to return RS 41 lakh withdrawn illegally from her account.
When the petition came up for hearing, Justice Devan Ramachandran directed to resolve the issue through mediation. Following this, Mohanaru and his wife expressed willingness to handover a cheque for RS 30 lakh in favour of Antharjanam, who was also present at the court on Monday.
According to the petitioner, she and her son Mohanaru held a joint account at the Chengannur branch of Federal Bank since 1998. She authorised her son and wife Asha Mohanaru to conduct transactions after they promised to take care of the treatment expenses of her husband and return the remaining money.
The petitioner alleged Mohanaru started ill-treating her after the demise of her husband in May 2018. Her son and daughter-in-law did not inform her about the transactions done from the account. She came to know that Rs 41.63 lakh was transferred to Mohanaru’s account without her permission. Her car too was sold off without her consent. Though she had approached the Maintenance Tribunal at Thiruvananthapuram, her petition was adjourned.