Ernakulam Siva Temple Advisory Panel Accuses Devaswom Officer of Irregularities in Festival Accounts, Demands Independent Audit

The dispute between the Ernakulam Siva Temple Advisory Committee and the temple Devaswom officer over accounts related to the temple festival held in January intensified further after the committee on Monday (September 7, 2026) sent a second letter in three days to the Commissioner of the Cochin Devaswom Board alleging that the officer had manipulated the accounts.

In its fresh complaint, the committee demanded an immediate independent audit of the accounts relating to the 2025-2026 festival and related temple finances by an authority that has nothing to do with the day-to-day administration of the temple. She accused Devaswom officer Akhil Damodaran of trying to manipulate financial records and expenditure accounts by involving third parties.

The letter urged urgent steps to secure and preserve all relevant financial records, vouchers, ledgers and related documents to prevent further manipulation. It demanded that Mr. Damodaran and others be barred from accessing or altering the accounts pending an investigation. It insisted that future financial negotiations should be conducted in full transparency and in consultation with the Advisory Committee, demanded a letter from Ashok Kumar S and R. Ramakrishnan, president and secretary of the Advisory Committee.

The officer denies the allegations

Mr. Damodaran dismissed the allegations as stemming from “personal vendetta” after he lodged complaints against some committee members over the conduct of temple affairs. “According to the Cochin Devaswom committee bye-laws, the secretary of the advisory committee is responsible for accounting the financial statements of the temple, while the role of the Devaswom officer is limited to assisting him. I informed the committee that the accounts related to the festival would be ready for approval by September 16, for which I hired two Devaswom staff and convened a meeting of the committee on September 3. The resolution against me,” he said.

Countering this, Mr. Kumar said Officer Devaswom is also given the role of cashier, which makes him responsible for clearing the bills. He claimed that Mr. Damodaran was continuing in office after the usual two-year term as a political nominee of the CPI(M). “For the past three months, we have been asking him to settle the accounts but to no avail,” Mr Kumar said.

In its meeting on September 3, the committee passed a unanimous resolution clearing serious financial and administrative irregularities during the temple’s annual festival in 2025-26 by Mr. Damodaran and Mr. Vinandan. The committee claimed that more than ₹3 crore was collected for the festival.

Commissioner Devaswom could not be reached despite repeated attempts.

Published – 07 Sep 2026 15:49 IST