HC refuses to intervene in Sivagiri mutt polls

KOCHI: The High Court on Wednesday refused to intervene in the election to the administrative board of the Sivagiri Mutt Sree Narayana Dharmasangham Trust scheduled on August 19.A Division Bench comprising Justice Thottathil B Radhakrishnan and Justice K Surendra Mohan  made it clear that the votes cast by all  newly-included nine members of the Trust should be collected in a separate ballot box and it should be kept in a sealed cover. The votes polled by the other members should be retained separately in a sealed cover. Votes will not be counted until further orders, the court said.The court passed the order while considering a petition filed by a Trust member Swami Sookshmananda and a few others.The petitioner submits that as per the bylaw of the Trust, the right to take a decision on election is vested with the general body of the trust. But the decision to conduct election on August 19 was taken by the administrative board.