THRISSUR: Guruvayur Devaswom has decided to move Supreme Court against the Kerala High Court verdict which held that the contribution of Rs 5 crore by the devaswom to Chief Minister’s Disaster Relief Fund was illegal. Guruvayur Devaswom had donated Rs 5 crore to CMDRF soon after 2018 flood. The petitions were filed by R V Babu, general secretary, Hindu Aikya Vedi Kerala, A Nagesh, BJP Thrissur district president, Bijesh Kumar, general secretary, Guruvayur Kshetra Raksha Samiti, and others challenging the decision to contribute Rs 5 crore to CMDRF.
On December 18, 2020, Kerala High Court held that the contribution was illegal. The court held that the Guruvayur Devaswom Managing Committee (GDMC) had no power to contribute money from the devaswom fund either to CMDRF or to any other government agencies under the provision of the Guruvayur Devaswom Act.
“After getting legal advice, the devaswom management committee sought advice from lawyer Aryama Sundaram. He said that the High Court verdict was an intrusion into the power of devaswom that has been conferred on it as per the Guruvayur Devaswom Act and hence it can be challenged. The donation made by the devaswom was as part of its social responsibility,” said K B Mohandas, devaswom chairman.