Kerala HC restrains aviation firms from offering pilgrims helicopter service to Sabarimala

Kochi: The Kerala High Court on Tuesday restrained the aviation companies from offering pilgrims helicopter service to Lord Ayyappa Temple in Sabarimala.

Directing the government to take measures in this regard, the court also directed the Travancore Devaswom Board (TDB), which manages the hill shrine, not to give any pilgrim the VIP considerations at the hill shrine.

A Division Bench of the High Court gave this order while disposing of a suo motu case taken up by it following a report over the advertisement related to a helicopter service offered to pilgrims going to Sabarimala by a private aviation company.

The court had earlier impleaded the Union government regarding the operations of choppers in a high-security zone and an ecologically sensitive region like Sabarimala.

The TDB had earlier told the court that it had not granted permission for any helicopter service.