The Kerala High Court on Thursday refused to hear a petition seeking a review of the Supreme Court verdict that lifted the ban on the entry of women between the ages of 10 and 50 into the Sabarimala temple.
According to a report by News18, the High Court has observed that the Kerala Government cannot wait till the Supreme Court passes verdicts on the review petitions filed before it and cannot keep women from entering the temple till then.
Responding to the argument made by the petitioner that the entry of women into the temple may “cause bloodshed,” the Court pointed out that there is a law in place to prevent any kind of bloodshed. As per reports, the Court refused to entertain the plea and stated that the petitioner to can approach the Supreme Court.
Ending a decade-long battle, the Supreme Court on September 28 delivered a landmark judgement lifting the ban on the entry of women into the famous Sabarimala temple in Kerala. The court observed that discrimination on the basis of physiological and biological factors can't be given legitimacy, meaning women and men are equal.
Ever since the verdict, thousands of devotees have been taking to the streets to protest against the Supreme Court. The situation took a violent turn when the gates of the Sabarimala temple opened on October 17 for the first time following the historic verdict.
Many woman journalists who were on their way to Sabarimala to report were stopped and assaulted by a mob of devotees in Nilakkal, 20 kilometres from Sabarimala. Following this, over 12 women made separate attempts to enter the temple but were blocked by protesters on their way to the temple and had to go back despite police protection.