Earlier, MyNation had reported that the Travancore Devaswom Board was in a dilemma over the proposition of filing a petition, pleading with the Supreme Court to review its order allowing women of all ages to enter the Sabarimala shrine of Lord Ayyappa. Within days, it had changed its decision from filing a review petition to supporting the existing petitions with a report.
Thiruvananthapuram: On Wednesday, Travancore Devaswom Board (TDB) decided not to file a review petition in Supreme Court about the Sabarimala Verdict. The board also said filing a review petition against the top court verdict right now has no relevance.
The Supreme Court verdict on September 28 allowing the entry of women of all age groups into Kerala’s Sabarimala temple had made the famous shrine a battlefield. TDB member KP Sankara Das said that the board would file a report only if the apex court asks for it. The board had earlier said it would file a report in the top court on the tense situation in Sabarimala.
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With regard to the review petition, he said the board would reply if the Supreme Court sought its views while considering the review petitions pending on the Sabarimala issue. "There is no relevance of a review petition by the TDB now," he said.
On October 23, the Supreme Court decided on taking up the review petitions pertaining to the Sabarimala case. A total of 19 review petitions have been filed before the court by many groups. Review petitions will be heard on November 13.
Kerala chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan on October 23, in a press meet, issued a new statement that he cannot agree with the thantri's decision of closing the Sabarimala temple. Vijayan also said a thantri doesn't have any rights to take any such decision. "A thantri can only take decisions on pujas of the temple," he added.
Vijayan also remarked that only Devaswom Board has the right to decide on closing and opening the temple. He further said that it's the duty of the thantri and the board to ensure women of all ages are able to enter Sabarimala shrine easily. The chief minister said that the thantri and the rest have tried to go against the Supreme Court verdict and that has annoyed him.
The chief minister also asked the TDB to take action against the priest and sub-priest of the Sabarimala temple who joined the protest of Ayyappa devotees opposing the entry of women aged between 10 and 50 into the shrine.
Vijayan also said that the state government has spent over Rs 302 crore towards Sabarimala for the past five years. He also said that there is a false propaganda that the government has taken all the revenue of the temple from the Devaswom Board. "The temple entirely belongs to the Devaswom Board. No one else has the right to it," he said.
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