Milma Union gets major relief from High Court in Sabarimala ghee controversy

In a major setback to the Kerala government, the Kerala High Court has ordered the reinstatement of the dismissed managing committee of the Thiruvananthapuram Regional Cooperative Milk Producers' Union. The union had become embroiled in a controversy over allegations of irregularities in the supply of ghee to the Sabarimala temple, following which the state government had dissolved its managing committee. According to a report by 'The Hindu', a division bench of the High Court has set aside the order of the Registrar and also put aside the earlier single bench verdict.

A division bench comprising Justice A.K. Jayasankaran Nambiar and Justice A.K. Preetha delivered this significant decision. Earlier, the single bench had upheld the Registrar's decision, opining that the Registrar had sufficient material to prove the allegations of irregularities in the supply of ghee at the Sabarimala Sannidhanam. However, the division bench rejected this reasoning and directed that the reinstated managing committee should now replace the appointed administrator.

The court noted that the Registrar had superseded the union's committee based on the report and recommendations of the Joint Director of the Dairy Development Directorate. According to the division bench, the Joint Director had sufficient information available regarding the allegations, which means the committee members had fully cooperated with the investigation. The court dismissed the allegations made by the state government regarding tampering with or concealing evidence. The court observed that when there is a lack of logic behind an action taken by a statutory authority, it raises doubts about the good faith of that authority.

Furthermore, the High Court clarified that the Registrar's order to supersede the committee under the Kerala Co-operative Societies Act, 1969, was taken without consulting the State Cooperative Union. The Registrar argued that given the gravity of the allegations, issuing a show-cause notice was not practical. On the other hand, the members of the dismissed committee, through advocates Renjith Thampan and P.C. Sasidharan, argued that the Registrar had no concrete material to remove a democratically elected committee. They also argued that due process was not followed and that action without issuing a show-cause notice could only be taken in exceptional circumstances.

The Thiruvananthapuram Regional Cooperative Milk Producers' Union involved in this dispute covers four districts - Thiruvananthapuram, Kollam, Pathanamthitta, and Alappuzha. This union is an important part of Kerala's cooperative structure, which manages the distribution of milk and dairy products and the supply of ghee to religious places like Sabarimala.