Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan made it clear that the Left government was with the believers.
The BJP/Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh and right wing outfits have made it clear that they would not allow any woman in the 10-50 age group to offer prayers at the shrine, where the deity is 'Naishtika Brahmachari' (perennial celibate).
Dhananjaya Y Chandrachud, however, had no qualms about overturning the judgements of father Y V Chandrachud on hot- button issues like adultery and the right to privacy.
A local court has returned the chargesheet filed by police against Kannada actress Jayamala and two others on the ground that it was lacking required documents in the case relating to her claim that she once visited the Sabarimala temple and touched the idol of Lord Ayyappa, defying the custom of the hill temple.
Security has been tightened in the hill shrine of Sabarimala in view of the anniversary of Babri Masjid demolition. Contingents of police, CRPF, National Disaster Response Force and armed commandos had been deployed in vital spots at the uphill 'Sannidhanam', where the temple complex is located, and downhill Pampa, senior police officials said.
Maharashtra government on Tuesday favoured entry of women in the sanctum sanctorum of the renowned Haji Ali Dargah in Mumbai.
Protesting against the police action, BJP has called for a dawn-to-dusk hartal in Thiruvananthapuram district on Tuesday.
The age of the girl, with 'irrumudikettu' (offerings to Lord Ayyappa) had been shown as 10 in the virtual queue booking.
Thursday was the day results from the Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh assembly elections and by-elections in Bihar, Odisha and Uttar Pradesh were out, so what were some of our leaders up to?
As the situation went out of control, police first used water cannon and then burst tear gas shells to disperse the unruly crowd.
The family members of Thantri Kantararu Maheswararu said, "Such a thing can never happen because even the Brahmin priests of the temple cannot enter the hallowed place and touch the deity."
The police said the women were told that it would be difficult to provide protection to them till the shrine as there was a possibility of protests.
Hegde had recently stoked a controversy with his 'daylight rape' comment which he had made in the context of persistent violence in Kerala.
The woman climbed the security barricade to the 'chauthara' (platform) where the idol is installed and offered prayers on Saturday, before disappearing in the crowd.
Seeking to downplay the debate over the Makara Jyothi of the Sabarimala temple, Travancore Devaswom Board said it was known to most believers that it was a man lit-fire, but there was a Hindu belief behind it. "It is known to everybody that Makara Jyothi is a fire lit up by men at Ponnabalamedu and TDB also recognises this',TDB president M Rajagoplan Nair said.
'This government has huge respect for the Supreme Court and when there is going to be a hearing on the review petition, it is appropriate to refrain from taking any action till then.'
After a review meeting held at the Pathanamthitta District Collectorate to assess the situation, Rajan and state health minister Veena George said at a press conference that it has been decided to open the Kakki dam to release around 100-200 cumex water which would increase the water level of Pampa river by around 15 centimetres.
The Supreme Court on Friday referred the issue of the practice of excommunication in the Dawoodi Bohra community to a larger nine-judge bench.
The temple board is likely to seek the co-operation of the state government as its own investigative wing had limitations in conducting the probe in a sensitive matter involving inter-state ramifications.
Rajya Sabha sources said he will take oath at 11 am on Thursday. The former CJI was nominated to the Rajya Sabha by President Ram Nath Kovind on March 16.
The PIL said that the ban on entry of Muslim women in mosques was 'unconstitutional' and violative of fundamental rights to life, equality and gender justice.
'What the Sabarimala majority verdict has done is to elevate the principle of equality over all others, including the right to worship, and declared that this will be the litmus test of all practices, and re-emphasise that practices that are ultra vires will be junked,' says Saisuresh Sivaswamy.
The issue of denial of permission to Mansiya V P to perform Bharatanatyam at Koodalmanikyam temple, Irinjalakuda in Thrissur district has become a matter of debate in the state.
The Sabarimala stampede has sparked criticism of Kerala government and the temple board for alleged failure to act on recommendations of the panel, which probed a similar tragedy in 1999, to develop alternative routes to the hill shrine to check recurring mishaps.
Accepting the report of the Food Safety Commissioner, that appam at Sabarimala was unfit for human consumption, the Kerala high court on Tuesday observed there was lack of proper management in the affairs of the Lord Ayyappa shrine.
Sivadasan's family has demanded a probe into his death.
'On the one hand it will appeal to pan-Hindu sentiment and on the other opposition to it could well strengthen support for the BJP among Hindu voters.'
Bindu from Malappuram and Durga of Kozhikode were trying hard to become part of history by trying to enter the shrine under heavy police protection.
Meena said political parties should be responsible enough to decide to what extent they should use the Sabarimala issue during the campaign.
The injured have been admitted to Sannidhanam hospital, Pathnamthitta Collector R Girija said. She said there was a "small stampede" between Sannidhanam and Malikapuram and about 20 persons were injured.
Considering the heavy rush to the hill shrine since last weekend, the police and security contingent deployed for crowd management will be strengthened in the coming days, official sources said in Sabarimala on Monday.
The BJP chief condemned the arrest of over 2,000 devotees, including Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh and Sangh Parivar activists, across the state agitating against the entry of women of all ages into the temple.
Though the government was for maintaining equal status for men and women, a separate season for women was necessary in view of the practical difficulties in providing facilities for women, when lakhs of devotees converge there during the pilgrimage season between November and January, it said.
Police said the tantri came in person to give the second complaint to the Central Police Circle Inspector. The police have registered the second complaint.
'These atheist people wanted to finish the progress of Sabrimala temple devotees and now they are using this (the Supreme Court verdict) as a weapon to destroy the believers.'
'The Supreme Court should not have come out with this kind of order and in my opinion, the court should correct it.'
The Kerala government on Friday decided to order a police inquiry into Kannada actress Jayamala's claim that she had entered the sanctum sanctorum of the Lord Ayyappa temple at Sabarimala.
Sabarimala Special Commissioner Rajendra Nair said a jeep had ploughed through the pilgrims, who were returning from 'makara samkrama pooja', using a narrow trekking path in a heavily forested hilly area, about 7km from Sabarimala hilltop shrine.
A bench comprising Chief Justice DY Chandrachud and Justice PS Narasimha took note of the plea of social activist Jaya Thakur, a Madhya Pradesh-based doctor, and issued notices to the central government and all the states and UTs.
Barring entry to non-Hindu devotees should be construed as 'contempt on Hindu religion' and anyone who is ready to follow the temple traditions should be allowed to worship, Bhattathiripad said.
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