I want my device to constantly hear for the command(customized, not OK Google) and activate the app when the command matches. All this should be possible even with a locked homescreen. Please give me some basic idea as to what should I start refering as I am a novice Android developer.
You can archive that with Pocketsphinx on Android. See for details
http://cmusphinx.sourceforge.net/wiki/tutorialandroid
Even when the screen is locked the recognition for the keyphrase is still running. You can execute your own code in onPartialResult callback once keyphrase is detected.