The HC bench accepted the vigilance finding that individual criminal liability could not be fixed
Kochi: The high court has asked the Travancore devaswom board (TDB) to consider initiating disciplinary proceedings against its employees accused of misappropriating funds at the Sabarimala ghee sale counters.
Additionally, the court expressed serious concern over the administrative competence at Sabarimala Sannidhanam, noting that 10 of the 39 ghee sale counter staff were new recruits who had been deployed immediately, while most senior officers had risen through the ranks and had long years of service without professional managerial training. The TDB has been asked to respond, with the case posted for Oct 23. A bench of Justices V Raja Vijayaraghavan and K V Jayakumar was considering a vigilance report in a case, which concluded that the Rs 17.14 lakh loss from the sale of ‘aadiya sishtam ghee’ during the 2025-26 Mandala-Makaravilakku season was not due to a criminal conspiracy but resulted from serious carelessness in the handling of ghee production, storage and sale.
The bench accepted the vigilance finding that individual criminal liability could not be fixed and directed the agency to proceed accordingly. The court further asked the TDB to consider recovering the loss and formulate a detailed standard operating procedure (SOP) to streamline operations. Taking into account the loss suffered by the board, the bench directed TDB to formulate a detailed SOP within three weeks, clearly defining the duties and responsibilities of officers and staff at each stage of the process. The SOP shall also incorporate appropriate mechanisms for supervision, stock verification, accounting, digital tracking and accountability. The bench observed that managing more than one lakh pilgrims daily requires specialised skills, not merely conventional experience. The devaswom is required to manage a wide range of pilgrim-centric activities, including crowd management, accommodation, food preparation and distribution, offerings, procurement, storage, transportation, sanitation, health and safety, financial administration, infrastructure and various other services. Such a large and complex system cannot be effectively managed merely through conventional administrative arrangements without adequate professional expertise and modern management practices. The court further recommended engaging qualified professionals on a contractual basis and suggested training senior officers through institutions such as the Centre for Management Studies and the IIM.