Kochi,  The Kerala High Court on Wednesday refused to stay the Travancore Devasom Board's (TDB) advertisement for appointment of the Sabarimala temple's chief priest, saying they cannot come to an immediate decision as things have to be studied in detail.

Two people had filed a petition seeking that it was not right for the TDB to select only Malayalee Brahmins for the post of the chief priests at the famed Sabarimala and Malikapuram temples.

The petitioners said that the court should make an immediate decision and stay the advertisement as the last date for application for the posts was July 17 and if something is not done, the petition will turn infructuous.

But a division bench of Justices C.T. Ravikumar and Murali Purushothaman, however, said that it was not possible to make the decision and posted the case for August 12, while asking the TDB to submit their affidavit in this regard.

The TDB controls all the temples in the southern districts of the state including the famed Sabarimala and Malikapuram temples and every year, appoints the temple's chief priest, ahead of the annual pilgrimage season which begins in November.