The Kerala High Court has directed the administration of Guruvayur Sree Krishna Temple to ban vloggers from recording videos in the temple premises including Nadapanthal (temple’s outer courtyard). The court, however, gave exceptions that videos can be recorded for marriage functions and other religious rites.
The division bench of Justices Anil K Narendran and PG Ajithkumar issued the directive while hearing a plea filed by the devotees of Lord Guruvayurappan. The devotees submitted a video of a Muslim vlogger, Jasna Salim, creating a ruckus and quarrelling with devotees waiting for darshan in the temple courtyard. According to the order, she was seen “celebrating her birthday by cutting a cake in the Nadapanthal”.
The devotees submitted that her act violated the Kerala Hindu Places of Public Worship (Authorisation of Entry) Act and Rules of 1965. Consequently, they urged the court to ban the entry of non-Hindus in the Guruvayur temple and its premises.
Incidentally, there are already court precedences in this regard. In January 2024, Madras HC restricted the entry of non-Hindus into Temples to protect the sanctity of the place of worship and prevent them from turning it into tourist spots as the arguments involved the entry of burqa-clad visitors. The landmark judgment came in the matter related to the entry of non-Hindus into the Palani Murugan Temple. The ruling specifically stipulated that non-Hindus and those lacking Hindu beliefs are prohibited from proceeding beyond the temple’s ‘Kodimaram.’
Nonetheless, in the present case, the Kerala High Court has prohibited vloggers from doing videography in the temple premises stressing that the temple is a special security zone and “not a place for cutting cakes”. Furthermore, the bench has also issued a notice to Jasna Salim, the Muslim woman involved in the incident. It has listed the matter for further hearing on 18th October.
The court order and observations
The two-judge bench ruled that videography by vloggers, particularly while following celebrities, is not allowed in the nadapanthal or other interior areas of the temple. It noted that such activities could disturb devotees, including children, the elderly, and people with disabilities.
The bench ordered, “We direct the Guruvayur Devaswom Managing Committee and the Administrator to ensure that videography, other than that related to marriage functions and religious ceremonies, is prohibited in the Nadapanthal of the Guruvayur Sree Krishna Temple. The temple is a Special Security Zone under the Kerala Police Act.”
“The videography of the interior places of the temple, especially through the eastern ‘Deepastambham’ cannot be permitted, ” the bench added.
Additionally, the court has assured the temple’s administrator that they can seek police assistance if necessary to enforce the ban.
The court further stated, “No person can be permitted to pick quarrels with devotees in the nadapanthal, and the courtyard is certainly not a place for cutting birthday cakes.”
It emphasised that the temple’s managing committee must ensure proper conduct within the temple, as mandated by the Guruvayur Devaswom Act, 1978. It added that the managing committee is obligated to adhere to temple customs and provide facilities for the proper performance of worship.
