The Travancore Devaswom Board changed stance on the Supreme Court verdict allowing the entry of women into the temple has met the ire of the Pandalam royal family. Earlier, the Board had taken a stand against the SC verdict and sought more time to implement the verdict.
Thiruvananthapuram: Sasikumar Varma, the Pandalam royal family representative said that the Travancore Devaswom Board (TDB) and LDF government proved that they are not with the true devotees during the review petition. He also said the Supreme Court's decision to reserve the verdict raises more concerns.
The Supreme Court on Wednesday reserved its judgment on 65 petitions regarding the review of the Sabarimala verdict (55 review petitions, four writ petitions, two transfer petitions, two special leave petitions (SLP) and one petition seeking time).
The petitions were heard by a five-judge constitution bench led by Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi. Justices Rohinton Nariman, AM Khanwilkar, DY Chandrachud and Indu Malhotra are part of the bench.
While many petitioners claimed that the verdict was wrong, the state government and the Travancore Devaswom Board (TBD) has now strongly opposed the review pleas, changing its stance on the Supreme Court verdict.
Earlier, the Board had taken a stand against the SC verdict and sought more time to implement the verdict. At that time, the TDB had said that the Supreme Court verdict was against temple customs and beliefs. They also said that Sabarimala issue was a special case and said that women won't be able to complete the 41-day-fast due to menstruation.
Advocate K Parasaran argued that the court passed the order without considering many constitutional matters and is literally wrong. The lawyer, who appeared for the thantri, opined that if women entry is permitted, then the deity will lose its celibacy.
As per reports, while the court considered the review pleas a team led by Pandalam Palace conducted a prayer meeting in front of the Thiruvabharana Malika.
The prayer meeting began after Moolam Thirunal Raghava Varma Raja lit the traditional lamp. Many devotees including Pandalam Palace representative Sasikumara Varma and Narayana Varma participated in the prayer meeting.
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