51 women entered Sabarimala, says Kerala govt in SC

New Delhi: The Kerala government has informed the Supreme Court that 51 young women had entered the Lord Ayyappa temple in Sabarimala since the apex court allowed women of all age groups to enter the hill shrine.

The government has listed the names of 51 women, along with other details including Aadhaar card and addresses. Most of the women are from Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Telangana and Goa. None of the names are from Kerala.

However, the names of Kanakadurga and Bindu who recently walked into sanctum sanctorum of the Sabarimala temple, despite huge protests from right-wing outfits, are missing from the list. This is because the list included the names of only those who booked darshan via online booking.

The Kerala government submitted the list in SC during the hearing on a plea seeking security for Kanakadurga and Bindu. The SC has directed the Kerala Police to provide adequate security to two women.

However, Travancore Devaswom Board members KP Sankar Das and N Vijayakumar said that they have no data to back the state government's claim in the SC.

"There is no need to doubt the government's stand. Real devotees come and have darshan and return. They would not publicise their visits and so the outside world will not know. However, there is no way the Devaswom board can ascertain the number of visits," the officials said.

However, Pandalam royal family said that they do not trust the list submitted by the government in court.

A five-judge Constitution bench, headed by then Chief Justice Dipak Misra, September 28, 2018, paved the way for entry of women of all age groups into the Sabarimala temple, saying the ban amounted to gender discrimination.

Kanakadurga, 44, and Bindu, 42, stepped into the hill shrine guarded by police on January 2, three months after the apex court's historic judgment.

Following the entry of the women into the shrine, the chief priest had decided to close the sanctum sanctorum of the temple to perform the 'purification' ceremony.

The right-wing outfits, including the BJP, have been protesting the LDF government's decision to implement the SC order. The state had witnessed protests and violence after the two women entered the shrine.