Sabarimala Virtual Queue: Kerala High Court Suggests Introducing Cancellation & Refund Provisions On The Website

The Kerala High Court on Tuesday extensively heard the objections raised against the virtual queue system in Sabarimala, as the pilgrimage season is fast approaching. 

A Division Bench comprising Justice Anil K Narendran and Justice P.G Ajithkumar upon recording the submissions of the petitioner, urged the respondents to make a provision in their portal for cancellation of booking and means to provide a refund for the cancelled bookings if cancelled within a time frame. 

"If a person from Andhra Pradesh books a slot and later finds it inconvenient to attend the pilgrimage due to genuine reasons, he should be able to do so without trouble. Such provisions should be included in the website if you are planning to run it." 

State Attorney N. Manoj Kumar submitted that there was no such provision yet but that the Devaswom Board had suggested for its inclusion along with a small cancellation fee to deter devotees from engaging in the unnecessary booking of slots.  

The observation came in a PIL challenging the legality of the 'Sabarimala Pilgrim Management System' ('SPMS') implemented by the Kerala Police, alleging that it restricts Darshan in Sabarimala to only those who avail the Virtual Queue Services.

The matter will be taken up again on 28th October for the respondents to submit their case. 

Summary of Arguments Advanced by Petitioner 

The petitioner's Counsel Senior Advocate Abir Phukan put forth before the Court that their main grievance was the mandatory nature of the virtual queue system. He argued:

• A majority of the pilgrims visiting Sabarimala are rural and rustic folks and although the system has been in place since 2011, they have not been using the virtual queue system for the pilgrimage until the 2019 pandemic season. 
• Certain advertisements are seen published by the Kerala Police on the website such as that of ambulance services and ghee companies when one logs in to book a slot for the darshan. The website cannot be a platform utilised for promoting trade and commerce, and it should not be made a platform to carry out multiple commercial transactions.
• In order to book a slot, the pilgrims have to register as a user on the website, enter their Aadhar card details, select a suitable date, and upload their photographs. This is an unauthorised use and collection of personal data of the Lord Ayyappa devotees, which is, in turn, a serious violation of the right to privacy as guaranteed under the right to life under Article 21 of the Constitution. 
  
• Last year, the State had imposed a limit of 5,000 devotees to visit Sabarimala in view of the ongoing pandemic and the bookings were to be made by the virtual queue system. Although, all the 5,000 slots were booked within hours of the portal opening, the turnout on the day of the pilgrimage seemed to be exceedingly lower. These statistics show that there were unnecessary booking of slots and genuine devotees were denied an opportunity to visit the shrine due to this.
• The argument of the respondents to take over the portal was that the Kerala Police is empowered to carry out crowd management. But if at all there is a need for crowd management, several other technologically advanced measures were already in place for the same. The Police cannot take over the entire process of regulating the entry of devotees to the shrine.
• The Travancore Board is entitled to manage the properties of the Devaswom and its affairs, including the funds; they ought to be vested with the deity. However, the portal is managed by the Kerala Police and run by a third party TCS, which goes contrary to the legal norms. This is a clear mismanagement of the Intellectual Property rights of the deity. The functioning of the website should only remain in the hands of the Travancore Board and not the TCS.

• Security threat is not a valid reason for Kerala Police to take over the entire system. There are various other means to ensure security in the premises such as the installation of metal detectors and CCTV cameras instead of data surveillance. 
• Making the virtual queue system mandatory is equivalent to ignoring the vast digital divide that exists in the country. Online booking should not be made mandatory this coming season, otherwise, it could prove to be detrimental to a good number of devotees.

Background:

The Virtual Queue, as per the website maintained by the Police Department, is "a limited subscription, first come first serve basis service" to provide access to the pilgrimage to a devotee.

The petitioner claimed that for availing the impugned service, a devotee has to provide personal information including name, age, address, contact number, photograph, details of photo identity cards etc., without any assurance regarding the protection of their privacy or safety of the data so collected.

The primary allegation in the PIL is that in the pretext of facilitating the crowds, the State and the Police are effectively usurping the role and powers of the Travancore Devaswom Board for malafide reasons in a completely non-transparent and arbitrary manner.

The question before the Court was whether the Police and the State were entitled to host a website and run a virtual queue system without requisite approvals. The Court also took note of the fact that the portal had been releasing advertisements as well to generate revenue.

As per the official website, the digital platform for SPMS is developed and facilitated by a private agency namely Tata Consultancy Services, Hyderabad.

Also Read: Is Govt Authorized To Manage Affairs Of A Temple? Kerala High Court Asks In Sabarimala Virtual Queue Case

Case Title: Suo Motu v. Travancore Devaswom Board