Kerala HC Restrains Sri Thirunelli Mahavishnu Temple EO From Renovating For 10 Days

The Kerala High Court recently restrained the Executive Officer of the Sri Thirunelli Mahavishnu Temple from proceeding with any renovation works in the Temple for 10 days.

A division bench of Justice Anil K. Narendran and Justice P.G. Ajithkumar was hearing the matter.

The incident came to light after certain news reports surfaced claiming that the Archaeology Department was being kept in the dark about the temple’s renovation work, emphasizing the importance of protecting the temple’s historically significant structures.

The petitioner, a devotee of the Sri Thirunelli Mahavishnu Temple in Wayanad, which is a controlled institution under the Malabar Devaswom Board, has thus filed the present writ petition, requesting that a direction be issued to the Director of Archaeology to form a monitoring committee comprised of archeological experts to monitor the ongoing renovation works in the temple, in order to ensure that no harm is done to the temple’s archeological value.

The bench perused the report of the Director of Archaeology’s report and noted that prior to the filing of the writ petition, the Archaeology Department had visited the temple and served a notice on the temple authorities to immediately stop all renovation works that could harm the temple’s archaeological and architectural value.

In such circumstances, the bench appointed Advocate M.R. Arunkumar as the Advocate Commissioner to inspect the temple premises on May 28, 2023, at 11 a.m., and directed him to submit a report to the Court with photographs of the ongoing renovation works.

“The remuneration payable to the learned Advocate Commissioner is fixed as Rs.25,000/- (Rupees Twenty five thousand only), which shall be paid by the petitioner before the date of inspection. The learned Senior Government Pleader and also the learned Standing Counsel for Malabar Devaswom Board shall ensure that the concerned officers in the Archaeology Department and also the Malabar Devaswom Board render necessary assistance to the learned Advocate Commissioner at the time of inspection,” the bench stated.

The matter has been scheduled for further hearing on 2^nd June, 2023.