Kochi: The women members of Cochin Royal Family have moved Kerala High Court seeking to end gender discrimination in the Palace Administration Board constituted to
manage the affairs of 1000-odd royal family members. They have sought to include women as trustees of the board.
Ten members of the royal family, including Kochammani Thampuran, 84, and Ganga Devi Thampuran, former principal of Maharaja's College, Ernakulam, moved the court seeking to set aside a royal proclamation which mandates that only men should be nominated to the board.
The proclamation said, “the board shall consist of five trustees who shall be nominated from the male members of the family so as to secure representation as far as possible for each of the four main thaivazhis of the family.”
The petitioners argued that the Maharaja of Cochin had promulgated a royal proclamation for the administration, management and conservation of the properties on June 29, 1949.
The provision violates Articles 14, 15, 16 and 19 of the Constitution of India and hence required to be declared as void, the petition said.
Immediately before the constitutional merger of Travancore-Cochin, the then Maharaja issued the proclamation to provide for the impartial administration, management and conservation of the family properties. The Palace Administration Board has been vested with the power and responsibility for the same.
The petitioners argued that the provision should be declared null and void. “The provisions are obsolete and not representing the interests of the family,” they said.
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