The Kerala High Court on Tuesday ordered the Travancore Devaswom Board to ensure that no activities are permitted on Temple premises which affect its sanctity during annual Temple festivals or other festivals.

"Temple festivals are for entirely different purposes," the court said while considering a writ petition challenging the performance of revolutionary songs of the Democratic Youth Federation of India (DYFI) during the temple festival at Kadakkal Devi Temple in Kollam on March 10. It added that devotional songs have to be played in Temple festivals and not film songs.

The writ petition alleged that a person called Aloshy performed political songs by displaying political party's flags in the background during the temple festival which is hurtful to sentiments of devotees. It also stated that the Temple Advisory Committee organised the performance violating the sanctity of the Temple.

The Division Bench of Justice Anil K Narendran and Justice Muralee Krishna S noted that large sums of money were collected from devotees for constructing the open stage, which was fitted with LED lights and flashlights. "After seeing the video clips, we find that the activities that have been undertaken in the annual festival of Kadakkal Devi Temple on March 10 are ones which cannot be allowed on Temple premises. We make it explicitly clear that programs like this cannot be performed in connection with annual festivals or other festivals in Temples," the Court stated.

The writ was filed seeking direction from Court to restrain use of Kadakkal Devi Temple and its premises from any sort of promotion, endorsement or facilitation activities of political parties. It seeks a direction that temple premises must be solely used for religious and cultural purposes.

Meanwhile, the Standing Counsel of the Travancore Devaswom Board informed the Court that it had directed the Chief Vigilance and Security Officer to conduct an enquiry and to submit a report. It was also submitted that the board had issued a show cause notice to the Temple Advisory Committee.

Further, the court directed the board to file a counter affidavit regarding the money collected from devotees for constructing the stage and conducting the festival. "Any collection of money should be using sealed coupons of the Assistant Devaswom Commissioner with the prior permission of the Travancore Devaswom Board. All such collections must be accounted for and subjected to statutory audit," the court ordered. 

(With inputs from LiveLaw)