Sabarimala: High Court relaxes restrictions on spot booking, says decision can be made based on situation

KOCHI: The Kerala High Court has eased the restrictions on spot booking at Sabarimala that were introduced due to heavy crowding. The court said the Travancore Devaswom Board and the Police Chief Coordinator at Sabarimala may decide the number of devotees allowed through spot booking based on real-time crowd conditions. The directive instructs authorities to set the spot-booking limit according to the crowd at any given moment.

The other day, the court had ordered that spot booking should be limited to 5,000 people per day. The new order allows the Devaswom Executive Order and the ADGP in charge at Sannidhanam to make necessary changes depending on the circumstances. The relaxation was granted after considering the Devaswom Board's argument that the crowd levels are not the same every day during the Mandala season.

The crowd at Sabarimala had reduced after the limit of 5,000 was imposed. At present, 70,000 people are allowed daily through online booking and 5,000 through spot booking. Currently, spot booking at Pampa has been stopped. Spot booking is available only at Nilakkal.