Supreme Court Declines to Intervene in Temple VIP Entry Dispute

The Supreme Court has declined to issue directives on a plea challenging the preferential treatment accorded to VIPs in temples across the country. A bench comprising Chief Justice Sanjiv Khanna, Justice Hrishikesh Roy, and Justice Sanjay Kumar expressed agreement that no special treatment should be granted for temple entries but deemed the matter unsuitable for judicial intervention.

The petition, filed by Vijay Kishor Goswami, contended that the practice of charging fees for expedited or preferential darshan discriminates against economically disadvantaged devotees, violating their fundamental rights to equality, dignity, and freedom of religion. The plea highlighted that while affluent individuals can afford VIP entry charges ranging from ₹400 to ₹5,000, ordinary devotees, including senior citizens, women, children, and persons with disabilities, often endure long waits, sometimes missing the opportunity for darshan altogether.

The petitioner argued that such practices create an unequal "VIP" class among devotees, leading to both intra- and inter-community discrimination and reinforcing economic barriers in religious worship. The plea emphasized that people from all castes, communities, classes, and sections of society should be treated equally and provided a fair opportunity to pray and receive darshan in all temples and religious structures.