The Kerala High Court has ordered the immediate reinstatement of the board of directors of the Milma Thiruvananthapuram Regional Co-operative Milk Producers’ Union, quashing the state government’s decision to dissolve it over allegations linked to the distribution of ghee at Sabarimala.
A Division Bench comprising Justices Dr A.K. Jayasankaran Nambiar and A.K. Preetha ruled that the dissolution of the Thiruvananthapuram Union was illegal. The order invalidates the decision issued by the Director of the Dairy Development Department, who had dissolved the elected board and appointed an administrative committee in its place.
The government had dissolved the board on July 25, citing allegations that included irregularities in the distribution of ghee supplied to Sabarimala. The High Court’s ruling came on an appeal filed by the Union president and office-bearers after a single judge had dismissed their petition challenging the government action.
The Division Bench allowed the appeal and directed that the dissolved board be restored immediately. Senior Advocate Renjith Thampan and Advocate P.C. Sasidharan appeared for the appellants.
The case concerns the administration of the Thiruvananthapuram regional union, one of the cooperative institutions operating within Kerala’s Milma dairy network. The order places the question of the government’s power to replace the elected board with an administrative committee at the centre of the dispute.
Milma had earlier rejected claims of a lapse in the supply of ghee to Sabarimala. On August 3, the Kerala Co-operative Milk Marketing Federation said that only premium-quality ghee meeting prescribed standards had been supplied. Milma chairman K.S. Mani said the federation’s dairies followed strict quality and food-safety protocols and that the ghee dispatched to Sabarimala had undergone stringent checks.
Mani said the ghee was packed in fully sealed 15-kilogram tins, which he said made alteration or tampering during transit impossible. He also said Milma had not received any official communication from the Devaswom authorities regarding a quality issue with the supplied ghee and had received full payment for the consignment.
The chairman further said that if Milma ghee had been replaced with a spurious or substandard product after delivery, those responsible would have to be identified and prosecuted under civil and criminal law. The statement did not establish where any alleged substitution may have occurred.
The High Court’s order now requires the elected board to resume control of the Thiruvananthapuram regional union. The ruling follows the court’s finding that the dissolution order and the appointment of the administrative committee could not stand.
