SC verdict on Sabarimala temple entry has shocked millions, says Ayyappa devotees' group; files review petition in top court

The National Ayyappa Devotees’ Association filed a review petition in the Supreme Court on Monday asking the top court to reconsider its ruling on women’s entry into the Sabarimala Temple in Kerala. The plea noted that the top court should not have passed an order allowing women of all ages to enter the shrine as it violated the Constitution and their religious rights. On 28 September, after hearing petitions challenging the ban on the entry of women of menstrual age inside Sabarimala, the top court held that the  practice violates rights of Hindu women . “Devotion cannot be subjected to discrimination, and patriarchal notions cannot be allowed to trump equality in devotion,” the bench had said.

The association, in its plea, claimed that this verdict of the Supreme Court had “shocked millions of devotees”. Filed by the chief of the organisation, Shylaja Vijayan, the association has urged the court to hear its case and review the ruling.

#Sabarimala Case: National Ayyappa Devotee Association moves review plea in SC@abhhimanyus pic.twitter.com/tHPyDTcsWp

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“The petitioners believe that no legal luminary, not even the greatest of jurists or a judge, can be a match to the common sense and wisdom of the masses. No judicial pronouncement, even of the highest judicial tribunal in this country… can be a match for ’the voice of the people,’” the petition read, according to NDTV. The petitioner, who is not party to the original case in the Supreme Court, called the judgment on Sabarimala “absolutely untenable and irrational, if not perverse”. [caption id=“attachment_5026791” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Sabarimala shrine in Kerala. Image courtesy ayyappaseva.org[/caption] Hundreds of Lord Ayyappa devotees, including women, have been staging demonstrations in protest against the Sabarimala verdict . Last week, they blocked state and national highways in various parts of Kerala. A number of women’s groups have also been protesting outside the office of the Travancore Devaswom Board, which manages the functioning of the hill shrine, in Thiruvananthapuram. The women’s groups have been demanding that the order be revokes, and that they are willing to wait till the age of 50 to visit Lord Ayyappa’s shrine. The protests were held after Kerala chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan announced that the state government will not challenge the Supreme Court ruling . The protesters then accused the Kerala administration of “cheating devotees”. The women’s groups holding the protests have been demanding that women of all ages not be allowed in the Sabarimala temple, and that they are willing to wait till the age of 50 to visit Lord Ayyappa’s shrine. Soon after the review petition was filed, Vijayan said that the Kerala government will implement the Supreme Court’s verdict on the entry of women in the Sabarimala temple. “Filing a review petition is against the stand,” he said, according to ANI. “It is the responsibility of the government to implement the verdict of the Supreme Court. It is not the policy of the government to fight with believers. Their interest will be protected. The government is ready for discussions.” This came after the head priests of the Sabarimala temple have decided to give Vijayan’s meeting to discuss the matter a skip. “We moved a review petition in the Supreme Court against the earlier verdict. We will decide on the course of action only after knowing the outcome of the review petition. Otherwise, the discussion with the government does not make any sense,” The Indian Express quoted Sabarimala thantri Kandararu Mohanaru as saying. He added that the decision was made after consulting leaders of the Nair Service Society.