Kerala High Court tells Travancore Devaswom Board to exercise greater care over halal-marked jaggery for Sabarimala prasadam

29 September 2026

A Division Bench of the Kerala High Court, Justices Raja Vijayaraghavan V and K V Jayakumar, disposed of a petition by a devotee, S J R Kumar, against the Travancore Devaswom Board.
The petition concerned jaggery for Sabarimala prasadam supplied by Vardhan Agro Processing Limited, some packets of which carried halal markings.
The court said the Board ought to have taken greater care to ensure that the jaggery supplied did not bear symbols, markings or declarations that could conflict with the temple's practices.
The Board was directed to exercise due care and caution in future and to include appropriate conditions in its e-tender documents.
The petition was disposed of on the Board's undertaking, with laboratory tests having found the jaggery satisfactory.