The petitioner was appointed way back on 01.01.1986 as karanma in the temple under the management of the first respondent Devaswom Board, owing to the fact that the family which had the hereditary right over the post expressed inability to engage any person from the family as karanma, inasmuch as, the said family did not have any suitable male member. From the record it is evident that, though the petitioner continued all along in the same post, he had not been paid any benefits, which are available for a regular employee, on the ground that there was no formal order abolishing the karanma right of the hereditary family. In that context, when the petitioner filed an application, the respondent authorities issued Exhibit P2 WPC 27993/14 2 proceedings formally abolishing the karanma rights and thereby regularising the services of the petitioner, but prospectively with effect from 19.03.2013. 2. Ventilating his grievance that the abolition ought to have taken effect from the initial date of his appointment and that the delay in that regard could not work to his prejudice, the petitioner submitted Exhibit P3 representation to the first respondent seeking retroactive service benefits from the date of his initial appointment, i.e. 01.01.1986. Complaining of its non-disposal, the petitioner has filed the present writ petition.
In the facts and circumstances, having regard to the respective submissions of the learned counsel for the petitioner and the learned Standing Counsel for the respondent Devaswom, this Court, without adverting to the merits of the matter, disposes of the present writ petition with a direction to the first respondent to consider Exhibit WPC 27993/14 3 P3 representation of the petitioner, duly taking into account the statutory scheme under Section 28 of the Travancore- Cochin Hindu Religious Institutions Act and pass appropriate orders thereon, as expeditiously as possible, at any rate, within a period of six weeks from the date of receipt of a copy of this judgment. It is made clear that until a decision is taken on Exhibit P3, status quo as on today shall be maintained with regard to the position of the petitioner in service.
Dama Seshadri Naidu, Judge tkv