The Kerala High Court has disposed of a petition that sought advancement of the opening date of the traditional forest trek route (Kanana Patha) leading to the Sabarimala temple, holding that such relief would amount to judicial interference.
The Division Bench of Justice Raja Vijayaraghavan V and Justice KV Jayakumar recently dismissed the writ petition filed by a Delhi-based lawyer on the grounds that the schedule was determined on the basis of environmental and administrative concerns, while also considering the public safety.
The High Court noted that the State’s decision to open the Erumeli–Sannidhanam forest trail only on the notified date formed part of a coordinated regulatory framework devised to protect both the pilgrim population and the ecologically fragile Periyar Tiger Reserve, through which the 35–45 km route traverses.
It underscored that the petitioner’s asserted freedom to undertake a customary trek could not override the constitutionally permissible limitations embedded in Article 25, which expressly subjected the right to freedom of religion to considerations of public order, morality and health.
The mode of access to a shrine, at best, constituted a customary practice, observed the Division Bench, adding that the same could not be elevated to the status of an essential religious practice to attract fundamental-rights protection.
Noting that the Kanana Patha was neither doctrinally mandated nor indispensable to the fulfilment of the pilgrimage, the High Court held that a request for early opening based on individual convenience could not be sustained, especially when multiple alternate routes and regulated entry systems exist.
The lawyers appearing for the State of Tamil Nadu and the Travancore Devaswom Board (TDB) apprised the Division Bench that the date of opening was fixed after multi-agency consultation involving the district administrations of Kottayam, Idukki and Pathanamthitta, along with the Forest Department and other departments responsible for disaster management, policing and health services.
They highlighted that unregulated entry in previous years had resulted in ecological degradation, human–wildlife conflicts, and a stampede in 2011 that necessitated the introduction of the virtual queue/e-pass regime.
The Principal Chief Conservator of Forests further informed the High Court that permissions are issued in strict conformity with the Tiger Conservation Plan. Operational guidelines, including timing restrictions and safety advisories, are disseminated through the “Ayyan” mobile application, he added.
The High Court recorded its concern over the present absence of an upper cap on daily footfall along the traditional route, emphasising that the reserve forest was a living ecosystem and not a transit corridor.
It directed the authorities to institutionalise measures such as daily carrying-capacity notifications, crowd-density advisories, dynamic regulatory triggers in adverse weather, and real-time monitoring of Sannidhanam through an integrated control room linking the TDB, Police, Health Services, Forest Department and NDRF.
Noting that the opening date had been finalised through a structured administrative process involving all relevant stakeholders, the High Court said it found no ground to exercise writ jurisdiction.
While dismissing the plea, the Bench reiterated that environmental conservation and the safety of pilgrims remained central to Sabarimala’s regulatory architecture.
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