The Kerala High Court on Wednesday directed the Cochin Devaswom Board to ensure that individuals wearing inappropriate attire, especially t-shirts bearing the word “bouncer”, are not engaged as security personnel during temple festivals or within the premises of shrines.
A bench of Justices Raja Vijayaraghavan V and K V Jayakumar issued the direction while disposing of a petition filed by Kochi resident N Prakash, who objected to such personnel allegedly deployed at the Sree Poornathrayeesa Temple in Thrippunithura from November 22 to 25.
The petitioner argued that using “strong-arm security personnel” to manage devotees inside sacred precincts was “wholly inappropriate and fundamentally incompatible with the sanctity, decorum, and cultural ethos that the temple environment demands.”
Responding to the plea, the Cochin Devaswom Board informed the court that it had initially appointed ex-servicemen for security arrangements. However, due to an unprecedented rush of devotees, a security agency was later engaged. The board admitted that it was “unfortunate” that personnel wearing “bouncer” shirts were deployed during the festival and assured the court such incidents would not recur.
Recording the Board’s undertaking, the bench directed both the Board and the temple’s Devaswom Officer to “exercise due caution hereafter and to refrain from engaging personnel wearing inappropriate attire, including t-shirts bearing the word ‘bouncer’, for security during temple festivals or within temple precincts.”
The petition was disposed of with the instructions.
