Four women have filed a petition with the Kerala High Court, expressing the wish to offer prayers at the Sabarimala temple and seeking protection for the same.
The petition, filed by Adv Maya Krishnan, Adv Rekha, Jeejamol P S and Jalajamol P S states that they are women between the ages of 10 and 50 and that they wish to visit Sabarimala and offer prayers, in furtherance of the recent verdict given by the Supreme Court which permitted women of all ages to enter the hill temple.
According to reports, the petition listed 14 parties including the BJP, the Congress, the state heads of both the parties and the temple’s head priest Kandaru Rajeevaru as respondents, and stated that that these respondents “are instigating some extremist Hindu groups under the name Sabarimala Karma Samithy and various other names, who have no recognized leaders, to the knowledge of these petitioners."
Further stating that the respondents are instigating violence in the name of an ‘unfounded and ritual practice held to be unconstitutional by the Hon’ble Supreme Court’, the petition said that their acts are prejudicial to the maintenance of harmony.
Describing the violence that took place last week in Nilakkal and Pamba when the shrine was opened for the monthly pooja, the petition stated that the mob took law into their own hands and unleashed terror in the area. Furthermore, it said that the Pandalam royal family and the thantri are scared to lose their position of privilege owing to the SC verdict and hence, they are also engineering the agitation by the mob in Sabarimala.
The petition filed by the four women also requested the court to direct the Devaswom board to take necessary steps to prevent the thanthris, priests, Pandalam Raja family members and Vavar Swamy Shrine Authorities from separately collecting any money from pilgrims and declare that all donations collected by them from any other place in the name of Sabarimala Ayyappa are liable to be accounted to the board.