scorecardresearch
Thursday, Mar 28, 2024
Advertisement
Premium

Sabarimala: Cong, BJP welcome SC order; chief priest says hopeful of reversing 2018 verdict

The SC verdict comes just days before the Sabarimala temple opens for the annual 'mandalam-makaravilakku' festival stretching from November 16 to mid-January, a period witnessing heavy rush of devotees at the hilltop shrine.

sabarimala verdict, sabarimala verdict latest news, sabarimala verdict news, sabarimala verdict today, sabarimala verdict supreme court, sabarimala review petition, sabarimala review petition latest news, sabarimala review petition supreme court, supreme court verdict on sabarimala, supreme court verdict on sabarimala today, supreme court verdict on sabarimala latest news, supreme court verdict on sabarimala news, sabarimala case verdict, sabarimala case supreme court judgement The Supreme Court verdict comes just days before the Sabarimala temple opens for the annual ‘mandalam-makaravilakku’ festival. (File)

The decision of the five-judge constitution bench of the Supreme Court on Thursday to refer the subject of women’s entry at Sabarimala temple to a larger 7-judge bench for re-examination has been welcomed by the Congress and the BJP in the state. The top court decision has also given hope to the temple’s chief priest and the Pandalam royal family, who have been petitioners in the case, who argued for the September 28, 2018 ruling of the apex court allowing women of all ages to offer prayers at the hilltop shrine to be reversed.

Follow Sabarimala Verdict LIVE updates here

The Supreme Court verdict comes just days before the Sabarimala temple opens for the annual ‘mandalam-makaravilakku’ festival stretching from November 16 to mid-January, a period witnessing heavy rush of devotees at the hilltop shrine.

On Thursday, top Congress leader Ramesh Chennithala welcomed the apex court verdict, underlining that it was a vindication of the stand of the party and the coalition it led in Kerala. Addressing reporters in Thiruvananthapuram, he said, “Congress was the only political party that filed a review petition through Prayar Gopalakrishnan. Manu Abhishek Singhvi had appeared as counsel for us. We see this verdict as a vindication of the stand of the Congress and the UDF. Through this decision, the SC has upheld the sentiments of Ayyappa devotees.”

Advertisement

He also used the opportunity to ask the ruling CPM-led government in the state to ensure a peaceful and violence-free pilgrimage season at Sabarimala. “During this mandalam-makaravilakku season, the government must not forcefully send young women to enter the temple with police protection and create problems there. The government must not convert the Sabarimala temple into a site of violence,” Chennithala said.

Explained | SC Sabarimala order and ‘essentiality’ test in religious practice

Festive offer

The BJP, currently without a state chief after PS Sreedharan Pillai was promoted as Mizoram Governor, also welcomed the ruling. Senior leader Kummanam Rajasekharan told reporters that all existing customs and practices at the Ayyappa temple must continue and demanded a harmonious pilgrimage season.

“In the shadow of this verdict, if the government tries to get young women to enter the temple and create problems, the repercussions will be severe. I also want to ask the chief minister what he has to say about the entry of women at other religious places. Will such issues crop up on his renaissance agenda? The government must express its opinion on these issues as well,” said Rajasekharan.

Advertisement
sabarimala, sabarimala women entry, sabarimala supreme court, sabarimala sc verdict, sabarimala review petition, sabarimala supreme court review, sabarimala protests, sabarimala temple kerala, kerala lord ayyappa, indian express, Kandararu Rajeevaru, the chief priest of the temple, also welcomed the top court verdict, adding that it gives them further hope that the 2018 ruling may get reversed. (File)

MT Ramesh, BJP general secretary, said his party had been stating all along that religious belief must not be questioned by rationality alone and that the sentiments of the faithful must be taken into account.

At the same time, the SC decision has acknowledged the sentiments of thousands of Ayyappa devotees across the world, said Sasikumar Varma, a representative of the Pandalam royal family which has a centuries-old kinship with the deity at the Sabarimala temple.

“It is a matter of great happiness for Ayyappa devotees. The SC has decided to re-examine its earlier 2018 verdict. It raises the doubt that SC thinks its earlier ruling may have been wrong,” he told reporters.

Kandararu Rajeevaru, the chief priest of the temple, also welcomed the top court verdict, adding that it gives them further hope that the 2018 ruling may get reversed.

Advertisement

Bindu Ammini, one of the two women under the age of 50 who had offered prayers at the temple in January this year, said the state police and the government have the responsibility to offer protection to those women arriving at the temple during the pilgrimage season.

Earlier today, the bench headed by Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi in a 3:2 decision referred the petitions seeking review of its 2018 ruling to a larger bench, maintaining status quo on the case. The majority judgment by CJI Gogoi and Justices AM Khanwilkar and Indu Malhotra said the entry of women into places of worship was not limited to the Sabarimala temple.

It said there were also issues concerning entry of Muslim women into mosques and Parsi women into their places of worship and therefore these issues may require adjudication by a larger bench. At the same time, dissenting judges DY Chandrachud and RF Nariman noted that the issues of Muslim or Parsi women were not even present before this court in the current batch of petitions.

Last year, on September 28, 2018, a 4:1 verdict of the top court had lifted the ban on the entry of women of menstrual age between 10 and 50 at the temple leading to widespread public demonstrations and violence around the temple site.

First uploaded on: 14-11-2019 at 14:09 IST
Latest Comment
Post Comment
Read Comments
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
close