Rajasthan High Court Forms Committee Under Divisional Commissioner for Sanitation, Healthcare and Order at Ramdevra Temple

The petitioner sought directions to the authorities to create sanitation (including toilets), law and order and medical healthcare facilities for devotees visiting Ramdevra Temple in Jaisalmer district (para 1). He said that devotees congregate there from the 21st of one month into the next and, with the heavy inflow, get no basic facilities, leading to chaos on the way to the temple (para 1). According to him, 2-3 lakh devotees arrive daily and gather within 1-2 km of the temple, and inadequate sanitation would spread disease in violation of the right to life (para 3). The State said some basic facilities existed and the authorities were taking steps for the excess crowd (para 2).

The Bench held that healthcare and law and order are required to be taken care of by the State (para 3). The State is under an obligation to take appropriate steps, in coordination with various agencies and institutions, to prevent untoward incidents such as a stampede and the spread of contagious diseases caused by the large number of devotees (para 3). To meet these requirements, the Court decided to create a committee to oversee the arrangements together with the trust that maintains the temple (para 3). The committee is chaired by the Divisional Commissioner, Jodhpur, with the District Collector, the District Superintendent of Police and the Chief Medical and Health Officer of Jaisalmer, and the chairman of the private trust, as members (para 4). It must attend to the devotees' needs, particularly sanitation, medical healthcare and law and order, and create the basic infrastructure for one month or until the crowd reduces (para 4). The State must support it, and it must convene immediately and decide within a week (para 4). The order records no finding on the adequacy of the existing facilities (paras 2-4).