SC: Petition against Elite VIP Culture in Temples

The Supreme Court of India has accepted the petition filed against the VIP entry fare used in temples to classify and discriminate against different groups of devotees.

A Two-Judge Bench has been created and assigned to hear the case. Justice Sanjiv Khanna and Justice Sanjay Kumar will preside over the bench. The Supreme Court is set to entertain the petitioners’ plea that this kind of discrimination based on wealth violates devotees’ right to equal treatment.

What is Elite VIP culture seen in temples?

It is a practice in many temples to have multiple entry points/ Darshan to their resident God’s chambers. It is up to the discretion of the temple administration to decide those entryways. This is an effective method to control the crowd of devotees maintaining order and peace while worshipping in temples.

The different darshan can be classified based on the devotee’s purse size. There is a general section devotees can access free of cost. Often these lines are the longest and congested pathways waiting to the main chamber. Several worshippers stand in these queues for their turn to view and pray before God. They are often rushed in peak hours to ensure everyone gets a chance to worship.

And then there are various tiers of paid darshans to avoid the rush of general darshan. They can view the Gods with reduced waiting time and are often crowd-free. So devotees who can afford to pay those charges use these routes. In practice, this can reduce overcrowding of general darshan. In reality, they have been blunt displays of power and wealth of certain classes of worshippers.

Is VIP or Paid Darshan legal?

The fancied and expensive darshans even allow VIPs inside chambers which is not legally permitted. Only priests access the inner chambers where God’s statues are decorated. The Madras High Court held that the privileges of VIP darshan are only legal when they do not interfere with the equality of worshippers.

It is not illegal to service VIPs darshan in temples. However, the right to equality is observed everywhere, especially before God’s eyes. The right to equality is omnipresent like God and no one is privileged to discriminate against citizens arbitrarily. This is the judicial dicta established over years of court cases.

Is the VIP culture fair?

What about the moral stance? Just because something is legal does not always mean it’s virtuous. While tax avoidance is legal, no one considers it moral. Easy access to God for a monetary sum while others patiently wait seems icky. It’s not exactly right or wrong. It is a contract so rationally for the compensation paid the buyer should be given the promised service. But it still feels unfair in a place of worship.

Plea in the present petition before the SC

The petitioner is challenging the levy of VIP entry charges and the discriminatory treatment of different devotees in the temple. The petition claims that the practice of VIP culture has allowed discrimination based on wealth. Thus it is argued to be violative of Article 14– Right to equality and equal protection of law, Article 21– Right to life with dignity and Article 25– Right to freely practice, profess and propagate religion.

The petitioner fears that with the growth of religious tourism, more temples would have their own VIP ecosystem discouraging ordinary devotees. The court is also asked to direct the appropriate government to frame a Standard Operating Procedure to maintain the entry of people into places of worship and create a National-level Religious Grievance Board.