Kerala High Court Issues Directions To Travancore Devasom Board To Ensure Transparency In Padi Pooja At Sabarimala Temple

The Division Bench of Justice Raja Vijayaraghavan V. and Justice K.V. Jayakumar issued the directions while considering a suo motu petition initiated on the basis of monthly report of the Sabarimala Special Commissioner regarding the activities undertaken during the Kumbham masa pooja.

The Court has earlier expressed its apprehension that the booking system for the Pasi Pooja may have been misused using false credentials for selling bookings at a profit.

Pursuant to this, a report was placed before the Court with the relevant registers and records. The reports revealed that the bookings for Padi Pooja have already been completed for the period from 2026 March up to September 2040, with approximately 705 persons having secured bookings.

The report also revealed that there are several instances where devotees who had booked Padi Pooja during the COVID-19 period or during the floods were unable to conduct the pooja as scheduled. In certain other cases, the devotees who had made the bookings have since expired. The number of such instances is stated to be approximately 71.

The Court noted that even though the bookings till September 2040 are completed, there are about 207 days on which no Padi Pooja has been booked, even though the temple remains open on those days and rituals could be conducted during those days.

Noting that the Vigilance Wing presently conducts proper verifications of all devotees who appear for Padi Pooja, the Court added that no similar irregularities have recently been reported.

The Chief Vigilance Officer has also made certain recommendations to streamline the process in the report.

The Court thus issued certain directions to streamline the process which are as following:

i) The Board shall identify available valid days on which Padi pooja can be conducted and explore the possibility of scheduling the pooja on such days for devotees who have already secured booking till 2040, to reduce the existing waiting period.

ii) The Board shall publish details of all vacant days available for conducting Padi Pooja on the official website.

iii) The Board shall frame and implement an appropriate mechanism for reallocating the vacant slots in a phased and transparent manner so pending booking up to September 2040 is cleared.

iv) The Board shall examine the feasibility of conducting more than one Padi Pooja on eligible days with the concurrence of the Temple Tantri.

v) The Board shall ensure that the devotee produces valid identity documents and complete contact details at the time of booking. The pilgrim shall also be required to nominate a person who may be permitted to conduct the pooja in the event of any unforeseen circumstances.

vi) The Board shall publish information relating to vacant Padi Pooja dates, Udayasthamaya Pooja, Ulsava Bali, Kalababishekam, and Sahasra Kalasam in the official website to enhance transparency and enable devotees to avail themselves of the available opportunities.

The Court issued the above directions and further directed the Board to file a compliance report within two months.

Case No: SSCR No. 8 of 2026

Case Title: Suo Motu v. State of Kerala and Ors.

Citation: 2026 LiveLaw (Ker) 132

Counsel for Respondents: Sayujya Radhakrishnan, S Rajmohan (Sr. GP), G Biju