Kochi: Left government’s decision to appoint K Jayakumar, 73, as President and member of the Board was legally challenged by a fellow IAS officer Ashok, Manorama reported.
Moving the Thiruvananthapuram District Court, Ashok argued that the appointment violates Section 7(iii) of the Travancore-Cochin Hindu Religious Institutions Act.
The act disqualifies any person holding an office of profit under the government and drawing a government salary from serving on the Board. Jayakumar is Director of the Institute of Management in Government (IMG) appointed by the Kerala government.
The petition stresses that the Travancore Devaswom Board is intended to function as an autonomous body and that the disqualification provisions under Section 7 exist to safeguard this autonomy.
Ashok argues that Jayakumar’s role as Director of IMG involves a clear master-servant relationship under the disciplinary control of the government, and that he is ineligible even to hold the post at IMG, having crossed the prescribed age limit of 60 years.
He contends that Jayakumar has been functioning illegitimately in the post since June 2018, contrary to the Institute’s Memorandum of Association (MoA), which limits tenure and age eligibility for directors.
Dispute on Jayakumar appointment
