Chaini Parwani –
Published On: October 8, 2021 at 16:19 IST
The Allahabad High Court received a Public Interest Litigation against the ‘Sugam Darshan’ method at the Shri Kashi Vishwanath Temple in Banaras, Uttar Pradesh.
According to the Plea the temple offers a “VIP” (Very Important Person) mode of ‘Darshan’ on payment of a certain amount.
The Petition has been filed by Gajendra Singh Yadav, a law student, indicating that this system allows any person to become a “VIP ” on payment of a certain amount, thereby discriminating against similarly situated people with not so much money.
The Plea further states, “the ‘Sugam Darshan’ system isn’t in favour of Divyangs or disabled persons and that the “queue-less, hassle-free Darshan system is nothing but a way of collecting money.”
Adding to that, the Plea commends that the Darshan system should be made complimentary for disabled people, as identical facilities have been provided to Divyangs (Disabled people) in almost all Offices, and, Institutions, Government or Public Buildings, etc.
Furthermore, the Plea says that in devotion or offering of ‘Lord Shiv,’ ‘Sparsh Darshan’ is seen to be very important. But only a few people are allowed to attend the ‘Sparsh Darshan’, which again amounts to inequality and is contrary to the ‘Right to Religion’ under Article 25 and 26 of the Constitution of India.
Except for all this, the Plea also argued, “Persons those who are there for the management of the temple push out the devotees shortly after entering into the ‘Garbha Griha’ (Sanctum Santorum) (and this) causes humiliation to devotees”
Finally, the Plea draws attention to the present arrangement at the temple, according to which no milk or sweets are permitted from outside the temple, purportedly for security concerns.
In this regard, the Petition claims that businesses within the temple’s limits charge much higher rates for milk and sweets.
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