Kerala HC directs Devaswom Boards to facilitate darshan at temples by disabled persons

Kochi, Sep 12 (PTI) The Kerala High Court on Friday said the Devaswom Boards in the state were duty bound to ensure persons with disabilities get a proper darshan in the temples under their management and issued a slew of directions for facilitating the same.

A bench of justices Raja Vijayaraghavan V and K V Jayakumar said that to give full effect to the guarantees of equality, dignity, and non-discrimination embodied in the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act 2016, disabled persons "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 bench said.

It further said in light of the relevant constitutional and statutory provisions, the Devaswom Board is duty bound to determine the manner in which persons with disabilities are to be accommodated so as to facilitate their darshan in each temple, taking into account the peculiar features and rituals of every shrine.

"This issue assumes particular significance in the major temples (Mahakshethrams) under the control or supervision of the various Devaswom Boards," the court said.

It directed the Devaswom Boards of Travancore, Cochin, Guruvayoor and Malabar to consult their respective tantris and other stakeholders and "determine the specific measures by which persons with disabilities can be accommodated so as to facilitate their darshan in each temple under their control'.

"The Boards shall decide, after evaluating the unique facts and circumstances of each temple, whether wheelchairs carrying persons with disabilities may be permitted inside the Nalambalam or other inner precincts, ensuring that the decision reflects the mandate of 'reasonable accommodation' and 'priority in access' under the Act," the court said in its order.

It also asked the Boards to examine whether a specific day or time can be fixed for providing darshan to persons with disabilities and to widely publish any such schedule for public knowledge.

"The Boards shall consider providing an option for advance booking or virtual-queue reservations to devotees with disabilities to ease their access and reduce waiting time.

"The Boards shall take all additional measures necessary to give effect to the provisions of the RPwD Act, including but not limited to barrier-free access routes, assistance personnel, and any other facilities required to ensure a dignified and unhindered darshan," the bench said.

It ordered that its directions should be complied with in "letter and spirit".

'Decisions on each of the above shall be taken and broad guidelines be issued within four (4) months from the date of receipt of this judgment," the court said.

The directions came while disposing of a plea initiated by the court on its own in 2022 based on a disabled woman's complaint about the difficulties faced by the physically challenged persons during their darshan in temples.

The woman had said that the authorities managing the Sree Vadakkumnathan Temple at Thrissur insisted that she leave her wheelchair at the outer entrance and informed her that wheelchairs are not permitted inside the Nalambalam of the shrine.

Opposing the petition, the Devaswom Boards had contended that there are certain practical difficulties in permitting the wheelchairs inside the Nalambalam of the temples.

They had further contended that the temples were constructed on the basis of Vasthusasthra, and there is no uniform architectural style.

They had also told the court that the temples are situated in different terrains with some of the temples inside the forest, and some are on the top of rocks. In some other temples the space available inside the Nalambalam is very limited, and it may not be possible to move a wheelchair there. PTI HMP HMP ROH