In a significant decision, the Supreme Court Constitution Bench has decided to hear on 22 January 2019, all 49 review petitions and four writ petitions pertaining to the court’s judgment on the entry of women aged 10-50 into Sabarimala. But this order goes on to make it clear that there is no stay on the court’s September 28 verdict. The latest order comes as a double- edged sword for the Kerala government that went out on a limb to enforce the earlier judgment, resulting in the virtual collapse of law and order on two occasions when the temple was opened briefly to devotees in October and November.
The five-day puja in October saw half a dozen young women reach the temple’s base station, but they were dissuaded from proceeding further following widespread protests. During the November opening that barely lasted two days, the state government was clearly on the back foot as it struggled to facilitate darshan to even a 52-year-old woman.
If the state government decides to stay its course and maintains it would ensure entry to any young woman who comes to the shrine, then it would be missing a golden chance to wriggle out of a tight spot as 550 young women have so far booked their darshan through the Kerala police portal for the Mandala- Makaravilakku season that begins on November 17 and stretches till January 20. If the police were seen struggling to maintain law and order when faced with a handful of women amidst a few thousand devotees in the earlier two instances, handling around three lakh devotees each day for a good 60 days is going to be an unenviable task.
As things stand now, the Kerala government is caught between a rock and a hard place with very little elbow room. The state government can, at least now, take recourse to its discretionary power and decide not to precipitate matters at Lord Ayyappa’s abode till the Supreme Court takes a final decision after the open court hearing on January 22. A beginning has been made as the chief minister has, for the first time, convened an all-party meeting to address this vexed issue.