98 per cent of women in Kerala won’t go to Sabarimala: Kemal Pasha
It was unfortunate that an issue like the entry of women to Sabarimala was dragged before the judiciary, he told reporters here.
Published: 04th October 2018 03:21 AM | Last Updated: 04th October 2018 03:21 AM | A+A A-
B Kemal Pasha. (File Photo)
KOCHI: Justice B Kemal Pasha, former High Court judge, on Wednesday asked women to maintain a self-imposed restriction from entering Sabarimala after the Supreme Court allowed the entry of women of all ages. It was unfortunate that an issue like the entry of women to Sabarimala was dragged before the judiciary, he told reporters here.
“Women can maintain a self-imposed restriction from entering Sabarimala. I don’t think 98 per cent women in Kerala will be going to Sabarimala following the verdict. I don’t see the verdict bringing changes at Sabarimala,” he said.
Since the matter was presented as a religious affair subject to Article 26 of the Constitution, he said, the SC had to give a verdict in the matter. “The only thing that could have been done was to prevent such a matter from being dragged to the judiciary. It was not a socially relevant issue, wasting time and money of the public and the judiciary. If gender justice in the appointment of Melsanthi arises, will that also be decided by the court?” he asked.
After the Haji Ali Dargah case, in which the High Court permitted the entry of women to a mosque in Mumbai, the SC could not deny the entry of women to Sabarimala. “It would create an impression that two different sets of justice is being served in matters related to practices followed by two different religions,” he said.
However, he believes women will not be going to Sabarimala as a majority wish to worship Lord Ayyappa as per the prevailing practices. “Apart from being a long-standing religious practice, women’s safety has to be taken into consideration. The government has to make vast arrangements to safeguard women from the crowd. For making special arrangements, forest land has to be acquired. It may not be an easy decision for the Centre considering the ecological aspects involved in acquiring forest land,” he said.
For the past three weeks, SC verdicts have been in the limelight and other serious matters are not being discussed, he said.
