On Sabarimala, Kerala HC asks police to remove barricades at key spots

Kochi: The Kerala High Court on Wednesday directed police to remove barricades at prime spots in the temple complex of the Lord Ayyappa hill shrine at Sabarimala.

It also directed police to lift restrictions like blocking pilgrims at Sharankutti, en route to the ‘sannidhanam’ or temple complex, after 11.30 pm.

A division bench of Justices Ramachandra Menon and N Anil Kumar said its earlier order that there should not be any protest in Sabarimala stands intact.

The bench also approved the report of the three-member monitoring commission appointed by it on November 28 to oversee the pilgrimage at Sabarimala temple.

The court had appointed the three-member panel to oversee the pilgrimage at Sabarimala temple and said there should not be any more protests at the shrine, which witnessed a series of violent incidents after the September 28 Supreme Court verdict, allowing women of all ages into the shrine.

It had, while hearing a bunch of petitions questioning restrictions at the temple, said the three observers would monitor the pilgrimage and report to the court.

The court on Wednesday said that depending on the intensity of the crowd, police can take appropriate measures to manage the crowd and inflow without causing inconvenience to pilgrims. Restrictions can be requisite or to the optimum extent, but not beyond that, the court held.

It also was of the view that police were at liberty to maintain law and order in the hill shrine complex. Meanwhile, Crime Brance IG S Sreejith has been given the charge of security of the Pamba and Sannidhanam areas from December 15 to 30, DGP Lok Nath Behra said on Wednesday.

Intelligence DIG S Surendran would be in charge of Nilackal, Vadasserikkara and Erumeli, the DGP said in a release Kozhikode Rural Police chief G Jayadev, Crime Branch SP P B Rajiv have been appointed as police controllers at the Sannidhanam.