Kerala govt wants more autonomy in temple affairs, no fight with courts: Minister

Published 13 July 2026 · politics

Kerala Devaswom and Health Minister K Muraleedharan on Monday said the state government was not looking for a confrontation with the judiciary, but wanted greater

Kerala Devaswom and Health Minister K Muraleedharan on Monday said the state government was not looking for a confrontation with the judiciary, but wanted greater freedom to function, especially in matters linked to temple administration. He was replying to questions on his earlier remarks that there was a need to examine whether such wide judicial intervention in temple affairs was warranted. Read Full Story "The government is not here to clash with the court. But at the same time, the rights of the government must be protected," he said. Referring to the Sabarimala gold theft case, the minister said the government could not take any further steps because the Kerala High Court had handed the probe to a Special Investigation Team. "The government is currently unable to adopt any means to uncover this gold theft incident in Sabarimala.

The High Court has entrusted the probe to the SIT. It has not filed the charge sheet. In such a situation, the government is unable to do anything," he said. Muraleedharan said the issue had figured prominently during the Assembly election campaign. "During the last election period, the phrase 'Who stole the gold?' became widely discussed. But if that case has to be proved, either the SIT should file the charge sheet or the court should direct that it be filed within a specified time. Neither has happened," he said, adding that long delays in filing the chargesheet could help the accused. "By the time the charge sheet is filed, the chances of the accused escaping are very high because those who are experts at stealing gold would also be experts at destroying evidence.

It is because the government is standing in such a helpless situation that I made those remarks yesterday," Muraleedharan added. The Minister said the matter was not limited to the gold theft case and extended to the administration of the Travancore Devaswom Board. "If there are errors in government decisions, the court can certainly intervene. Courts have delivered judgments both in favour of and against the government. We have accepted those verdicts," he said. He pointed out that while the government could appoint the Commissioners of the Cochin and Malabar Devaswom Boards, the procedure was different for the Travancore Devaswom Board. "In the case of the Travancore Devaswom Board, a panel has to be prepared and submitted to the High Court, and the final decision is taken by the court.