Kerala High Court reinstates Milma board dissolved over Sabarimala ghee distribution controversy

Kerala High Court Division Bench has quashed the state government order dissolving the board of directors of the Milma Thiruvananthapuram Regional Co-operative Milk Producers' Union.

Kerala High Court Division Bench has quashed the state government order dissolving the board of directors of the Milma Thiruvananthapuram Regional Co-operative Milk Producers' Union. The Division Bench issued the order after observing that the dissolution of the Thiruvananthapuram Union was illegal.

The court directed that the dissolved Board of Directors be reinstated immediately. The court invalidated the order issued by the Director of the Dairy Development Department, which had dissolved the board of directors and appointed an administrative committee.

The government had dissolved the board on July 25, citing allegations including irregularities in the distribution of Sabarimala ghee. The Division Bench, comprising Justices Dr. A.K. Jayasankaran Nambiar and A.K. Preetha, issued the order allowing the appeal challenging the single-bench verdict that had dismissed the petition filed by the Union President and office-bearers. Senior Advocate Renjith Thampan and Advocate P.C. Sasidharan appeared for the appellants.

Earlier, the Kerala Co-operative Milk Marketing Federation (Milma) on August 3 clarified that there was no lapse in the supply of ghee to Sabarimala and asserted that only premium-quality ghee meeting all prescribed standards was supplied. Milma Chairman K S Mani said the ghee dispatched to Sabarimala underwent stringent quality checks and maintained that the federation has never compromised on the quality or purity of its products.

Addressing a press conference here, Mani said Milma, the dairy cooperative of Kerala's farmers, manufactures ghee and other dairy products using advanced technology while adhering to strict quality and food safety standards. "The ghee supplied to Sabarimala was packed in fully sealed 15 kg tins, making any alteration or tampering during transit impossible. All Milma dairies follow the same stringent quality protocols," the chairman said.

Mani further said Milma has not received any official communication from the Devaswom authorities regarding any issue with the quality of the ghee supplied to Sabarimala. He also confirmed that the federation received full payment for the supplied ghee. "If Milma ghee were replaced with any spurious or substandard product after delivery, it would amount to a serious offence. Those responsible must be identified and prosecuted under both civil and criminal law," the chairman said. (ANI)