The judgment establishes that the preservation of sanctity in religious sites necessitates proactive environmental measures to prevent littering and pollution, reflecting a duty of reverence and responsibility among devotees.

ORDER

Raja Vijayaraghavan V, J.

The instant report has been submitted by the Sabarimala Special Commissioner regarding the timely removal of clothes collected from the riverbanks at Pampa.

2. The report states that the inspection conducted by the Special Commissioner has revealed that the banks o f the river Pampa and the steps leading to the river are heavily littered with discarded clothes left behind by devotees. It is further recorded that although a Kuthaka has been granted to remove the accumulated clothes in a timely manner, the said work is not being carried out effectively, even at the very commencement of the Mandala–Makaravilakku Season 2025–26.

3. We have considered the submissions advanced.

4. From the commencement of the Pilgrim Season on 17.11.2025, on average, pilgrims, often exceeding 80,000 per day, reach Pampa and Sannidhanam. It appears that a widespread but wholly non-ritualistic practice has evolved wherein many of them discard their dhotis and other garments along the riverbank, on the steps leading to the holy river, and in some cases directly into the river. The photographs placed before us by the Special Commissioner depict large quantities of clothes dumped on the steps leading to the holy river, as well as garments floating in the river itself. This conduct causes serious and cumulative ecological harm. Cotton garments absorb water and settle on the riverbed, interfering with the natural flow of the river, creating stagnant pockets, reducing dissolved oxygen levels, and placing considerable stress on aquatic life. Fish become trapped in these cloth bundles, and the slow decomposition of fibres increases the biochemical oxygen demand of the river. The dumped garments also obstruct natural drainage channels, encourage the spread of invasive vegetation, and contribute to water stagnation and bank erosion. Although the Devaswom Board has engaged contractors to remove the accumulated clothes, we are of the view that post-event removal is wholly inadequate to address the continuous and large-scale dumping which overwhelms any manual cleaning effort.

5. The holy river Pampa is not merely a river but the sacred pathway to the abode of Lord Ayyappa. The scriptures and the tradition surrounding Sabarimala teach that a devotee must approach the Lord with inner and outer purity. When thousands of pilgrims dump their clothes into the river, the sanctity of t his holy site is disturbed. The river, which symbolises purification, cannot itself be made impure by heaps of discarded garments floating on its surface and gathering on its steps. Polluting the Holy river contradicts the very principle of purity and restraint that forms the core of Ayyappa worship. Ensuring cleanliness is not a mere administrative duty but a continuation of dharma, honouring the Lord by keeping His surroundings pure. The Board should take efforts to spread the message that the duty to keep the Pampa clean is a form of worship and an offering of reverence to the deity, w ho is worshipped as the one who protects good, restrains evil, and upholds righteous conduct.

6. As an initial step in our endeavour to s top the dumping of clothes in the banks of the Holy river and the steps leading to Pampa, the following measures shall be taken by the Board. On instructions, the learned Standing Counsel appearing for the Travancore Devaswom Board (TDB) submitted that the Kuthaka holder has employed 80 personnel to collect the clothes, out of which 30 persons can be employed to carry out the plan, which we detail as under:

Directives:

a) A significant part