NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Friday declined to consider a PIL to stop rising practice of allowing preferential visits to 'VIPs' in temples across India, even though it felt such a treatment should not be given.
A bench of Chief Justice of India Sanjiv Khanna and Justice Sanjay Kumar said, this court cannot issue directions on the issue.
"We will not entertain. We may be of the opinion that no special preference should be given, this court cannot issue directions under Article 32 of the Indian Constitution," the bench told Vijay Kishor Goswami, who filed the plea in the matter.
The court had on October 27, 2024, had said that it will examine the writ petition challenging the imposition of "VIP entry charges" at major temples across India.
The plea claimed that temples across the country are increasingly charging fees, ranging from Rs 400 to Rs 5000, to facilitate quicker access for those who can afford the charges, while ordinary devotees, often indigent and travelling long distances, faced significant delays in darshan.
It said that such fees would also infringe upon the constitutional rights to equality, dignity, and religious freedom.
The plea contended that the practice of charging fees for expedited preferential darshan of deities discriminated against the section of economically disadvantaged devotees, violating Article 14 (Right to Equality) and Article 21 (Right to Dignity) of the Constitution.
