Sabarimala Temple opens today, tension prevails
Thiruvananthapuram, Oct 17 (IBNS): Situation remained tense as the Sabarimala temple is going to open for the first time since the Supreme Court gave its verdict where it allowed women aged between 10 and 50 to pray at the hill temple.
Meanwhile, some people are opposing the verdict.
On Tuesday, several protesters reportedly stopped and checked vehicles and forcibly turned back girls who are aged between 10 to 50.
Security has been tightened at the base camp, Nilakkal, which is around 20 km away from the temple, to keep the situation under check.
The Supreme Court on Oct 9 declined an early hearing of a petition filed to review the top court's verdict which allowed women of all ages to enter Kerala's Sabarimala Temple, where menstruating female persons earlier had no access, media reports said.
The top court had passed the verdict as it was hearing a clutch of petitions that have been challenging the ban on the entry of women, who are aged between 10 to 50 years, in Sabarimala Temple, dedicated to Lord Ayyappa.
The petition against the top court's verdict has been filed by President of the National Ayyappa Devotees Association, NDTV reported.
The five-judge bench, headed by former Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra, passed the judgement in favour of women with a 4:1 ratio. The only judge who had dissented, interestingly a woman, was Justice Indu Malhotra.
Earlier in January this year, the Travancore Devaswom Board (TDB), which manages the Sabarimala Temple, had decided to make proof-of-age documents mandatory for female devotees at the shrine.
Sabarimala is a Hindu pilgrimage centre at the Periyar Tiger Reserve in the Western Ghat mountain ranges of Pathanamthitta District and witnesses one of the largest annual pilgrimages in the world with an estimated 45–50 million devotees visiting every year.
Lord Ayyappa's temple is situated amidst 18 hills on a hilltop.
Image: Wikimedia Commons
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