Kerala High Court Strikes Down Devaswom Recruitment Board's Power Over Guruvayoor Appointments

The Division Bench of Justice Sushrut Arvind Dharmadhikari and Justice Syam Kumar V M were considering an appeal filed by the Guruvayur Devaswom Employees Union Congress and others, challenging the relevant provisions of the KDRB Act.

The examined whether the Guruvayoor Devaswom Act, 1978, a special enactment governing a single temple institution, could be overridden by the later KDRB Act, which establishes a centralised recruitment mechanism for all Devaswom Boards.

The Court observed that a special law prevails over a general law, and the mere presence of a non obstante clause in the later enactment cannot be read so expansively as to obliterate the legislative intent behind a prior special enactment, particularly one governing a unique and constitutionally protected religious institution like the Guruvayoor Devaswom.

The Court thus observed that Section 9 of the KDRB Act must be read harmoniously with Section 19 of the Act of 1978, so as to preserve the exclusive statutory autonomy of the Guruvayoor Devaswom Board in matters of appointment, while giving effect to the objectives of the KDRB Act to the extent they are not inconsistent with the special provisions of the Act of 1978.

“Section 9 of the KDRB Act cannot supersede or override Section 19 of the Act of 1978. The Act of 1978 is a special and self-contained statute, enacted with the specific object of regulating the administration of the Guruvayoor Devaswom, and Section 19 expressly vests the statutory power of appointment of officers and employees in the Managing Committee.” Court held

The Bench revisited the Full Bench ruling in Krishnan v. Guruvayoor Devaswom Managing Committee (1979 KLT 350), which struck down the earlier Guruvayoor Devaswom Act, 1971 Act for transferring appointment powers to a government-dominated body.

The Court held that the right to appoint staff is integral to the right to manage religious affairs under Article 26 of the Constitution of India and the principle established in Krishnan, that vesting power of appointment in a body separate from the denominational representative violates Article 26 remains valid.

The Court thus held that Kerala Devaswom Recruitment Board, like the invalidated Board under the 1971 Act, is not a representative of the religious denomination.

“By transferring the power to prepare select lists from the GDMC to the KDRB, the legislature has once again taken a core administrative function away from the religious denomination's representative body.” Court observed.

The Court further observed that since the Act of 1978 was promulgated with the President's Assent, its specific provisions should prevail over the KDRB Act passed by the State Legislature, especially on a concurrent list subject, unless the KDRB Act also received President's Assent.

“Under the constitutional framework governing conflict resolution and judicial precedent, Section 19 of the Act of 1978 is the stronger provision and would prevail, thereby rendering Section 9 of the KDRB Act inoperative as it is inconsistent with Section 19 of the Act of 1978. Accordingly, Section 9 of the KDRB Act is struck down.” Court concluded

The Court thus declared Section 9 of the KDRB Act unconstitutional and inoperative with respect to Guruvayoor Devaswom and reaffirmed that Section 19 of the Guruvayoor Devaswom Act, 1978 governs appointments.

Case Title: Guruvayur Devaswom Employees Union Congress and Ors v State of Kerala and Ors.

Case No: WA No. 1447/ 2025

Citation: 2026 LiveLaw (Ker) 19 

Counsel for Appellant: M U Vijayalakshmi, K Jaju Babu (Sr.), Brijesh Mohan, Sachin Ramesh, Manikantan S Kandathil, Aishwarya Satheesan, Sreelakshmi S N

Counsel for Respondents: K P Harish (Sr. GP), V V Nandagopal Nambiar (SC - Kerala Devaswom Recruitment Board), T K Vipindas