Kerala High Court Directs Guruvayur Devaswom to Resolve Two Decades of Audit Backlogs

Judicial Mandate for Financial Accountability

A Division Bench of the Kerala High Court, comprising Justices Raja Vijayaraghavan and K.V. Jayakumar, has intervened to address long-standing financial irregularities at the Guruvayur Devaswom Board. Following a status report from the Senior Deputy Director of the Kerala State Audit department, the court issued a strict mandate for the board to comply with the Guruvayur Devaswom Act 1978. The ruling requires the managing committee to establish an immediate timeline for paying ₹14.72 crore in outstanding audit fees and to systematically address a massive backlog of 2,048 audit queries accumulated between 2001 and 2022.

Digital Transparency and System Access

The court identified a significant lack of cooperation regarding the board's modern financial systems. To rectify this, the judges ordered that the audit wing receive full login credentials and read-access to all digital platforms within three weeks. This directive extends to comprehensive training for auditors on various technologies, including:

• Software-based online facilities for vazhipadu collection.
• Point of Sale (POS) and card machines.
• Kiosks and E-Hundi systems utilizing QR code scanning for cashless transactions.

While the board noted it had contracted the firm 'Logical Step' for end-to-end computerization, the court emphasized that digital advancement must not hinder oversight. All records generated by these transactions, alongside primary expenditure documents, ledgers, and cash books, must be surrendered to the auditing body.

Institutional Oversight and Asset Protection

Concerns regarding the physical security of the board's wealth were highlighted after reports surfaced that annual accounts were often submitted years late. The Audit department had previously been unable to verify the custody of Devaswom assets because the board failed to provide physical verification certificates. To prevent future lapses, the court ordered:

• The mandatory submission of all meeting minutes and committee decisions impacting annual accounts.
• Disclosure of all bank accounts held under the board's name.
• The maintenance of detailed revenue expenditure statements.
• Regular coordination meetings between the Administrator or Commissioner and the Audit department to address ongoing observations.

The Commissioner is now tasked with actively clearing 16 pending audit reports that have remained unresolved over the past twenty years, ensuring that every financial transaction is cataloged and verified according to statutory requirements.

Source: The Hindu — Home