Kerala High Court Orders Strict Action Against Levy Of Excessive Locker Fees In Sabarimala

The Kerala High Court on Tuesday (August 26) directed initiation of strict action against a tender holder in Sabarimala for charging locker fees, much higher than that permissible by the tender conditions.

The Division Bench of Justice Raja Vijayaraghavan V and Justice K.V. Jayakumar was considering a suo motu case, which was initiated based on an anonymous complaint by a Telangana resident addressed to the Chief Justice. The complaint pertained to the unauthorized collection of locker charges at Pamba, Sabarimala allegedly resulting in revenue loss to the Travancore Devaswom Board.

In the complaint, it was stated that ₹100 was charged per bag as locker charges whereas the terms of the tender clearly specifies Rs. 30/- for usage of locker for 24 hours and Rs. 50/- per head for space for placing viri. It was also mentioned that valid receipts and vouchers were not being issued to devotees who were availing the locker facilities, the sole one in Pamba.

The counsel for the Travancore Devaswom Board told the Court that a notice was issued to the tender holder after the police complaint. Thereafter, no such complaints had been received. Moreover, a board displaying locker charges was displayed at the site.

However, the Court felt that the display board was too small and since the writing were in vernacular language, this would not be sufficient. Thus, it directed:

"The Travancore Devaswom Board shall ensure that boards displaying the prescribed rates for the cloakroom and stalls are prominently exhibited in front of the respective shops, in English, Malayalam, and other regional languages, to facilitate and inform the devotees."

The Court opined that since vouchers and receipts were not being issued, this could mean that there might be substantial revenue loss to the Devaswom board.

Noting that issuance of notice was the only step taken against charging of excessive fees, the Court directed, "Strict action shall be initiated against the Kuthaka holder, Sri Shyam Sasidharan Nair, for collecting amounts in excess of the permissible limits, in violation of the terms and conditions of the tender."

It further directed initiation of action and blacklisting against violators of kuthaka rights and asked the Chief Vigilance Officer of Travancore Devaswom Board to effective steps to avoid future incidents.

Thus, it disposed of the matter.

Case No: Suo Motu v. State of Kerala and Ors.

Case Title: DBP No. 53/2025

Citation: 2025 LiveLaw (Ker) 526

Counsel for the respondents: G. Biju - standing counsel, S. Rajmohan - Sr. GP

Click to Read/Download Judgment