Facilitate Temple Darshan For Persons With Disabilities, Consider Fixing Specific Days/Time Slots: Kerala High Court To Devaswom Boards

The Kerala High Court on Friday (September 12) issued a set of directions to the four Devaswom Boards in the State, namely, Travancore, Cochin, Guruvayoor and Malabar Devaswom Boards, in order to facilitate temple darshan for persons with disabilities (PWDs).The Division Bench of Justice Raja Vijayaraghavan V. and Justice K.V. Jayakumar was considering a suo motu petition, which was registered on the basis of a complaint preferred by T. Suganthi. In the complaint, she had outlined the difficulties faced by her during her visit to Sree Vadakkumnathan Temple at Thrissur last year as she was not permitted to carry her wheelchair inside.The amicus curiae in the case, Advocate V. Ramkumar Nambiar filed an interim report and gave a list of suggestions which can be taken up by the Devaswom Boards for facilitating the temple visit of differently-abled persons.However, the different Devaswom Boards filed counter affidavits mentioning the difficulties in giving a uniform direction to all the temples due to reasons like peculiar geographical nature of the places in which various temples are located, architectural features and narrow passages that cannot be altered to allow the passage of wheelchairs, etc.After referring to Article 25 of the Constitution and the various provisions of the Right of Persons with Disabilities Act, the Court observed that the Devaswom Boards are duty-bound to make efforts to facilitate darshan of persons with disabilities, taking into account the peculiar features and rituals of every temple. It opined:"Upon a careful reading of the provisions of the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016, we are of the considered view that, to give full effect to the guarantees of equality, dignity, and non-discrimination embodied therein, persons with disabilities must be afforded appropriate and reasonable accommodations and be accorded priority in access to facilities and services. Such measures are not a matter of charity but a statutory and constitutional mandate designed to secure substantive equality. The RPwD Act mandates that necessary steps are to be taken to ensure "reasonable accommodation" and “priority in access”—that reflects the Act's rights-based approach and the constitutional principle of substantive equality."It thereafter went on to issue certain directions and dispose of the petition.The directions given to the Boards include:1. To consult with thanthris and other stakeholders for coming up with specific measures for facilitating darshan of persons with disabilities in each temple.2. To determine whether wheelchairs can be permitted inside the Nalambalam or other inner precincts of each temple considering their peculiar circumstances and to ensure that these decisions reflects the mandate of “reasonable accommodation” and “priority in access” under the Act.3. To decide whether specific day or time can be fixed for permitting the darshan of persons with disabilities and to publish the same.4. To consider providing advance booking or virtual queue options to persons with disabilities.5. To take additional measures to give effect to the Act.6. To ensure that the directions passed by the Court are complied with in letter and spirit.It also directed the Boards to conclude decisions on each of the above and issue broad guidelines within four (4) months from the judgment.Case No: DBP No. 25 of 2024Case Title: Suo Motu v. State of Kerala and Ors.Citation: 2025 LiveLaw (Ker) 561Counsel for the respondents: G. Biju - SC - Travancore Devaswom Board, K.P. Sudheer - SC - Cochin Devaswom Board, R. Ranjanie - SC - Malabar Devaswom BoardAmicus Curiae: V. Ramkumar NambiarClick to Read/Download Judgment

Facilitate Temple Darshan For Persons With Disabilities, Consider Fixing Specific Days/Time Slots: Kerala High Court To Devaswom Boards

K. Salma Jennath

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