Kerala High Court Seeks Explanation Over 17-Year Delay in Travancore Devaswom Board Audit

Court : Kerala High Court

Brief :

The Kerala High Court has directed the Director, Devaswom Audit, Kerala State Audit Department, to appear before the Court and explain the delay of over 17 years in completing the audit of the General Administration of the Travancore Devaswom Board for the financial year 2008-09.

The matter relates to a Devaswom Board Audit Report petition registered in 2011. The Court noted that such a long delay in finalising statutory audit defeats the purpose of financial scrutiny, transparency, accountability and timely corrective action in the administration of Devaswom institutions.

The Division Bench comprising Justice Raja Vijayaraghavan V. and Justice K.V. Jayakumar also directed the Director to submit a detailed statement mentioning the pending audit objections, their present status, reasons for delay, steps taken for timely completion and the expected timeframe for completing the audit for 2025-26.

Judgement :

The Court observed that Section 32 of the Travancore-Cochin Hindu Religious Institutions Act, 1950 mandates annual audit of the accounts of the Travancore Devaswom Board. The provision also requires the audit report to be placed before the High Court wherever irregularities, illegalities, non-recovery of money or property, or loss caused due to misconduct are noticed.

Taking serious note of the prolonged pendency, the High Court called for a personal explanation from the concerned officer and sought a comprehensive report regarding the delay and pending objections.