Kerala High Court Flags Serious Financial and Audit Lapses at Guruvayur Devaswom, Calls for Digital Management System

Kochi: The Kerala High Court has flagged serious lapses in financial transactions and auditing at Guruvayur Devaswom and called for the introduction of a comprehensive digital management system.

The court said an integrated digital system should be developed to cover income, expenditure, assets, contracts, offerings and temple services. An accounting software alone would not be sufficient, a bench comprising Justice V Raja Vijayaraghavan and Justice K V Jayakumar observed.

The bench also directed the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) to allow Chief Finance and Accounts Officer K P Sajith to continue in the post for another month, until a replacement is appointed.

Meanwhile, the High Court expressed displeasure over the Devaswom's decision to permit a private company to install accounting software. It questioned the criteria used to select the company without inviting tenders.

The court pointed out that the annual accounts for the three financial years from 2023 to 2026 had not been made available for audit. It also noted that 2,048 audit queries dating back to 2001 remained unresolved.

The bench further expressed dissatisfaction with the Devaswom's submission that inspections of gold and other valuables had been conducted only in 2007. It directed the authorities to specify a time frame for completing the inspection.

The case will be considered again on November 11.