The Kerala High Court on Monday, 9 February 2026, directed the Travancore Devaswom Board (TDB) and its officials to exercise due diligence while publishing or approving content that could hurt the religious sentiments of devotees.
The directive was issued by a division bench comprising Justice K. V Jayakumar and Justice Raja Vijayaraghavan V while hearing a petition filed against the Devaswom Board and the Advisory Committee of the Kollam Rameswaram Mahadeva Temple.
The petition challenged a notice issued in connection with the temple’s Thiruvathira Aarattu Maholsavam, which carried an advertisement for an event sponsor. The notice featured images of non-vegetarian food, triggering objections from devotees.
According to the complaint, the inclusion of non-vegetarian food visuals was contrary to temple customs and violated guidelines framed by the temple’s advisory committee regarding acceptable content in festival-related publications.
After hearing submissions from counsel representing the Travancore Devaswom Board, the court directed the Board and its officials to exercise caution while approving notices and brochures linked to temple festivals.
The bench observed that both the Temple Advisory Committee and the Devaswom Board bear responsibility to ensure that festival-related publications do not contain objectionable material that could offend the religious sentiments of devotees.
Source: OnManorama
Subscribe to our channels on WhatsApp, Telegram, Instagram and YouTube to get the best stories of the day delivered to you personally.
