Kochi: The Kerala High Court ruled that the Kerala Devaswom Recruitment Board (KDRB) can no longer prepare candidate lists or conduct recruitment for various posts in the Guruvayur Devaswom and its aided educational institutions.

A Division Bench comprising Justices Sushrut Arvind Dharmadhikari and Syam Kumar V M declared Section 9 of the Kerala Devaswom Recruitment Board Act unconstitutional, stating that the provision empowering the KDRB to prepare appointment lists for Guruvayur Devaswom institutions is invalid.

The court on Friday directed that the KDRB must cease all selection and recruitment activities henceforth. However, appointments already made by the Board will remain unaffected.

The Bench instructed the Guruvayur Devaswom Managing Committee to restart the recruitment process immediately, issuing fresh notifications and conducting appointments strictly in accordance with law. To ensure a smooth transition and prevent administrative disruption, the court constituted a three-member independent Special Committee to oversee a “free, fair and transparent” recruitment process under Section 19 of the Guruvayur Devaswom Act, 1978.

The panel will be headed by Justice P N Ravindran (Retd.), along with the Administrator of the Guruvayur Devaswom Managing Committee and advocate K Anand as members. The committee will supervise the entire selection procedure for a period of one year.

The court observed that Section 19 of the 1978 Act clearly vests the statutory power of appointment with the Managing Committee and therefore prevails over the conflicting provisions of the KDRB Act. As a result, Section 9 of the KDRB Act was declared “inoperative” and formally struck down.

The order was issued while allowing an appeal filed by the Guruvayur Devaswom Employees Union Congress, represented by senior advocate K Jaju Babu, challenging a single-judge verdict of May 30 2025, that had upheld Section 9.

The court directed that a copy of the judgment be forwarded to the Kerala Chief Secretary for appropriate action.

PTI