Four women, including two lawyers, have approached the Kerala High Court seeking police protection to offer prayers at the Sabarimala temple.
A. K. Maya Krishnan, S. Rekha, P. S. Jalajamol and P. S. Jayamol have also sought directions to stop the Congress, the BJP, KPCC president Mullapally Ramachandran, BJP State president P. S. Sreedharan Pillai, Leader of the Opposition Ramesh Chennithala, Pandalam Palace Nirvahaka Sangam, and Sabarimala Tantri Kandararu Rajeevararu from interfering with the right of the petitioners to pray at the temple. They have sought a declaration that the government is duty-bound under the Constitution to maintain law and order.
The petitioners sought to direct the State to initiate necessary criminal action against the Congress, the BJP, Mr. Ramachandran, Mr. Pillai, Mr. Chennithala, Pandalam Palace Nirvahaka Sangam, and Mr. Rajeevararu for carrying out the illegal act of promoting enmity between different groups of citizens on grounds of religion, causing disharmony and feeling of enmity and ill-will.
The act of respondents of publicly declaring and instigating others to prevent the women of age group 10 to 50 from entering the Sabarimala temple is a deliberate and malicious act intended to outrage religious feelings of such women and respondents. The State is duty-bound to register cases against them, they submitted.
The Travancore Devaswom Board shall be asked to initiate necessary legal action against Mr. Rajeevararu and other priests who conducted protest dharna inside the temple to prevent the women from entering the temple in exercise of their fundamental right, they submitted.
The board shall be directed to take necessary steps to prevent the tantris, priests, Pandalam royal 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 Ayyapa deity are liable to be accounted to the devaswom board, the petitioners submitted.