Pilgrims waiting for darshan in front of the holy 18 steps at the Sabarimala Ayyappa temple on Thursday.
| Photo Credit: LEJU KAMAL
Citing the need to regulate the number of pilgrims at Sabarimala and to prevent build-up of devotees at Nilackal and Pampa, the Kerala High Court on Thursday issued a set of directions to the Chief Coordinator heading the police team and to the Travancore Devaswom Board (TDB) to prevent over crowding.
It should be ensured that only persons with genuine virtual queue or spot-booking pass corresponding to the specified date and time slot are permitted entry to the Sannidhanam. Under no circumstances should the police permit any person carrying a fake booking pass to trek from Pampa to the Sannidhanam. Likewise, pilgrims who have obtained slots for a different date or different time should not be permitted entry. Absolute and uncompromising adherence to the booking-slot system and the production of a booking pass or a spot entry pass is mandatory and non-negotiable, the court held.
Scrupulous compliance with these directions in letter, spirit, and execution are indispensable to regulate the inbound flow of pilgrims and is paramount for safeguarding the life, health and safety of every devotee, it said and directed the TDB to give wide and continuous publicity to these directions through the virtual queue platform as well as through print, electronic, digital media, and also issue Short Messaging Service (SMS) alerts to all pilgrims holding virtual queue bookings well in advance of their scheduled date and time of visit.
Overwhelm infrastructure
An uncontrolled congregation will severely overburden and overwhelm the infrastructure available at transit points. This will result in the vehicle movement becoming paralysed, parking capacity getting exhausted, sanitation facilities stretched beyond its limits, food and water supply disrupted, and medical resources compromised. In such circumstances, the police and the authorities concerned will be confronted with a law-and-order situation, the court warned.
From previous experience, it was found that the police and the authorities concerned, out of sheer compulsion, are forced to allow such crowds to proceed further to the Sannidhanam, even without a booking pass, thereby transferring the congestion uphill, where the carrying capacity is even more limited and fragile. The resultant bottlenecks will destroy the regulated queue movement system, undermine emergency response capabilities, trap pilgrims in narrow corridors, and significantly heighten the risk of stampede-like situations, with catastrophic consequences. Crowd behaviour becomes unpredictable and unmanageable once saturation levels are breached.
The court reminded the police and the TDB that any incident caused due to overcrowding would be irreversible and unforgivable. A situation where lakhs of innocent devotees are exposed to foreseeable, preventable, and potentially fatal hazards merely due to lax enforcement or administrative complacency will not be permitted, the court added.
Published – November 27, 2025 08:53 pm IST
