Kochi, Feb 5 (IANS): The Kerala High Court on Wednesday allowed an affidavit filed by the state Audit Department highlighting financial irregularities in the Guruvayur Devaswom's accounts, pointing to improper accounting of receipts and expenditures by temple authorities.
Guruvayur Devasom is the custodian of the famed Sree Krishna Temple, one of the most crowded in Kerala, at Guruvayur in Thrissur district.
A division bench of Justices Anil K. Narendran and S. Muralee Krishna noted that the affidavit contained serious allegations of mismanagement of financial accounts by the Guruvayur Devaswom Managing Committee.
The audit report was filed in response to a petition filed by Dr PS Mahendra Kumar who wanted the court to direct the Devaswom to disclose details of its deposits in co-operative societies, citing concerns over financial mismanagement and recent banking scams in Thrissur.
The affidavit, submitted to the court, outlined multiple financial irregularities, mismanagement of temple funds and lapses in cyber security protocols, raising serious concerns about the administration of the temples under the Guruvayur Devaswom Board.
It was pointed out that the temple superintendent, manager and deputy administrator failed to ensure that the collected funds were correctly deposited.
The report pointed out that as of October 5, 2023, the Devaswom had fixed deposits worth Rs 1,975.90 crore across various nationalised banks, scheduled banks and cooperative urban banks.
Another major concern raised in the affidavit was the installation of CCTV cameras under the Central government's PRASAD scheme.
The project, entrusted to Uralungal Labour Contract Co-operative Society Ltd (ULCCS), cost over Rs 5 crore, but it was pointed out that defects in the CCTV system were identified during the defect liability period, yet they were not rectified by the contractor and the Devasom had to spend an additional R s4.05 lakh to replace defective equipment, including UPS batteries.
It has also been pointed out that despite repeated demands, the CCTV system is not working to its full capacity and causing serious security concerns for the temple.