Sabarimala Overcrowding: Kerala High Court Caps Spot Bookings To 5,000 Amid High Influx Of Pilgrims

Taking note of the high influx of pilgrims that visited Sabarimala in the last couple of days for the Mandala-Makaravilakku season, and the Special Commissioner's report concerning crowd management issues, the Kerala High Court ordered that the booking be capped at 75,000 per day from today (November 20).The Division Bench comprising Justice Raja Vijayaraghavan and Justice K.V. Jayakumar noted that those who visited the pilgrimage through spot booking crossed 30,000 per day, much exceeding the earlier cap of 20,000.The Court was told on Wednesday (November 19) that the influx of pilgrims was around 1 lakh with several of them arriving ahead of their scheduled time slots. It then directed:“Having regard to the enormous inflow of pilgrims, we are of the considered view that, for effective and safe crowd management, the Virtual-Q booking shall continue to be capped at 70,000, and that, with effect from tomorrow, the spot booking shall be limited to 5,000 per day until 24.11.2025.”It gave strict direction to the Travancore Devaswom Board to ensure that the aggregate number of spot bookings, including those being done at the Erumeli, Nilakkal, Pamba, Vandiperiyar and Chengannur Railway Station, do not exceed the aforesaid cap.The Court also recorded the government pleader assurance that officers of the Indian Reserve Battalion (IRB) would be deployed to regulate the movement of pilgrims ascending the holy steps.Further, the TDB was directed to ensure uninterrupted and adequate distribution of drinking water and refreshments to the pilgrims.Noting that cleanliness of the toilets at the pilgrimage to be of a serious concern, the Court directed the Head of the Sanitation squad to submit a report regarding actual state of cleanliness after conducting an inspection.TDB submitted that coordination by the Devaswom Minister is necessary to ensure seamless functioning of all services but the State Election Commission has issued a notice to the Minister, restricting him from convening coordination meetings and giving interviews to the media.Considering the same, the Court further directed:“the interdiction preventing the Minister from convening meetings for the purpose of coordinating essential activities at Sannidhanam has to be relaxed. Given the scale of operations and the need for effective real-time coordination across departments, the involvement of the Devaswom Minister is indispensable. We therefore permit the Devaswom Minister to convene meetings for the proper coordination of all activities relating to the pilgrimage at Sannidhanam. However, the Minister shall strictly refrain from speaking to the media in terms of notice dated 14.11.2025 or engage in any form of election-related canvassing.”Bearing in mind, the need for scientific management of crowds during pilgrimage season while also considering ecological aspects, safety and welfare of pilgrims, the Court proposed the constitution of a Sabarimala Infrastructure & Crowd Management Expert Committee.It directed the TDB to constitute the committee with specialists in Transport Engineering, Urban and Regional Planning, Civil Engineering, Disaster and Crowd Science, Environmental Science, Public Health, and IT Systems and Data Analytics. The committee thus constituted is directed to devise a comprehensive management plan coordinating with the TDB, Police, Forest department, Health services and district administration. Among other duties, the committee is to conduct a Geographical Information System (GIS)-based Amenity Audit to assess overall efficiency and to determine Density-based safety thresholds based on international standards.The case is next posted on November 24 (Monday).Case No: SSCR No. 37 of 2025Case Title: Suo Motu v. State of KeralaClick to Read/Download Order

Sabarimala Overcrowding: Kerala High Court Caps Spot Bookings To 5,000 Amid High Influx Of Pilgrims

K. Salma Jennath

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