Kerala High Court restricts helicopter services, VIP darshan at Sabarimala temple

The restrictions from the Kerala High Court came after a suo moto case by the court following a report on the advertisement about a helicopter service offered to pilgrims going to Sabarimala temple, reports PTI.

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The Kerala High Court on Tuesday prohibited aviation firms from providing helicopter services to Sabarimala's Lord Ayyappa Temple for pilgrims. In addition, the court ordered the Travancore Devaswom Board (TDB), which oversees the hill shrine, not to treat any pilgrim with VIP treatment there. The government was also ordered to take action in this regard. 

A Division Bench of the High Court gave this order while considering a suo moto case taken up by it following a report on the advertisement about 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.

With inputs from PTI