A Division Bench of the Kerala High Court on November 9, 2023 dismissed a writ petition challenging the selection of Mahesh P.N. as Melsathi (chief priest) of the Sabarimala Ayyappa temple.
The Bench comprising Justice Anil K. Narendran and Justice G. Gireesh observed that it did not find any reason to interfere with the selection of Mr. Mahesh as the chief priest of the temple.
The petition was filed by Madhusoodanan Namboothiri of Thiruvananthapuram. He had alleged that the piece of paper containing the name of Mr. Mahesh was not rolled by using both palms by the Special Commissioner before it was deposited into the pots as was done in the case of the other lots. The petitioner sought a directive to the Travancore Devaswom Board (TDB) to conduct fresh drawing of lots.
