KOTTAYAM: Post the Supreme Court decision to refer the review pleas on Sabarimala women’s entry to a larger bench, the Nair Service Society (NSS), which played a crucial role in the litigation, on Friday vowed to continue the legal battle for protecting the customs at the hill shrine. The latest edition of the NSS mouthpiece ‘Service’ states this unequivocally, with the leader also sounding hopeful of the final judgment favouring the faithful.
“It is an extremely welcome development that the five-judge Constitution bench through a majority decision referred the Sabarimala case to a larger seven-judge bench. We view this as a triumph of faith and the faithful. Also, our resolve to protect the faith, customs and rituals at Sabarimala will continue in the following phases of the case when it is considered by the seven-judge bench,” it said.
extending the full cooperation to ensure a peaceful pilgrimage season. Nonetheless, it is highly critical of the government and the TDB for showing indecent haste in implementing the order of the five-judge bench allowing entry to women of all ages. It puts the blame, for the untoward incidents which marred the 2018 Sabarimala pilgrimage season, squarely on the hasty implementation of the September 28, 2018 order.
“The stated policy of the NSS is to protect the faith, rituals and customs at Sabarimala. Consequently, the NSS along with the faithful belonging to all communities organised the ‘namajapa procession’ from October 2, 2018 . A review petition was filed in the Supreme Court through K Parasaran, former AG on October 8, 2018,” it says.