JUSTICE DELAYED IS JUSTICE DENIED!
Indian Judiciary has been playing a legendary role in piling up the pending cases in its closet. There are end numbers of cases with a question mark on its adjudication, and SABARIMALA VERDICT is one of them.
Introduction:
Sabarimala Temple, a temple located at Sabarimala in the Periyar Tiger Reserve, Perinad Village, Pathanamthitta District, Kerala, India. This temple is dedicated to Lord Ayyappan, a Hindu celibate deity also known as Dharma Shasta. Sabarimala temple is one of the largest pilgrimages in the World, estimating 40-50 million devotees’ visits every single year. Women who all are under their reproductive age (from age 10- 50) are not permitted to visit the temple and the reason stated behind this ban is that the celibate nature of the deity in this temple must be respected.
After a long time finally a voice rang, in the year 1990 a PIL was filed in the Kerala High Court to solicit the ban on women devotees inside the Sabarimala Temple. In the year 1991 Kerala High Court held that the restrictions in the women’s entry (between the ages of 10-50) will remain the same in the holy place of Dharma Shasta.
In the year 2006, the Indian Young Lawyers Association, filed a petition in the Supreme Court of India, seeking the same issue. In 2008, even after referring the case to a three-judge bench, restrictions were still the same and the reason behind this was that the Congress was the ruling state government and they generally aimed to maintain the status quo, it’s a Latin saying, keep things the way they are present.
In January 2016, the court itself questioned the ban on women and stated this is the violation of the Indian Constitution. In April 2016 to the reply of this, Chief Minister Oomen Chandy leading The United Democratic Front government of Kerala states that we are duty-bound to protect the right to practice the religion of Sabarimala devotees. Also in November 2016, they stated that they are into the favor, to permit the entry of women in the temple of Lord Ayyappan. And in the very next year i.e. the year2017, the case was referred to the constitution bench.
In the year 2018, the Supreme Court passed the verdict that women under any age are now no more restricted to enter the Sabarimala Temple, stating that this centuries-old Hindu religious practice was illegal and unconstitutional.[1] Did this enable the women to enter into sanctum sanctorum of the temple? No, the large number of followers was preventing women to enter into the temple and to date, the situation is the same. Isn’t this a contempt of court? It is! Aren’t people still challenging the verdict now? Who says? People in large numbers are still against the verdict. Even after approximately 30 years does justice prevail? Of course not!
Why it was a need? Why the removal of restrictions on women’s entering into the Sabarimala temple is essential?
This case has given rise to a question that whether this country could continue with its religious practices unhindered and unconstrained by the law of the land. Without thinking even twice we all can agree on a point that somehow somewhere women are still discriminated all over the world. Not only Sabarimala Temple restricts menstruating women; the majority of temples and religions still restrict women to worship in their menstruation days. People are still living with a stigma that bleeding red is Unclean. Therefore to undo the stigma, the verdict in favor of women was a need.
What about our Fundamental Rights? What about the Supreme Law, the Indian Constitution? What about the violation of once rights?
Article 25 of our Indian Constitution states that “all persons are equally entitled to freedom of conscience and the right to freely profess, practice, and propagate religion subject to public order, morality and health. Further, Article 26 states that all denominations can manage their affairs in matters of religion.[2] Aren’t individuals allowed to follow their fundamental rights? And if it is allowed so don’t you think, the decision in the favor of women’s was a need?
And yes people state several backstories and history behind this women’s restriction but no one has proof.
What’s the impact of Supreme Court Judgement on the society?
In the year 2018, even after the decision of the Supreme Court of India on the Sabarimala Temple Case the situation remained the same. Still, there is an obligation in women’s entry into the temple, several peaceful protests ended up with the lathi charges. Somehow women were opposing women itself. Kanakadurga and Bindu these were the first two ladies who entered into the temple after the verdict and Kanakadurga was allegedly attacked by her mother- in- law after reaching home, this made Bindu and Kanakadurga file a petition and even they asked for the security.[3]
After that few women even tried entering into the temple but were not permitted by the pandits to worship lord Ayyappan. This proclaims Contempt of Court, discrimination towards women, violation of Supreme law, and violation of one’s rights.[4] And the same situation prevails till date, only 51 women under the age of 50 has entered into the temple and the protests have disturbed Kerala since the Supreme Court has pronounced its verdict, and several women have been stopped from going to the hill-top shrine in Sabarimala.
Delay in Justice
The verdict of the petition filed in the year 1990 was announced in the year 2018; I hope the delay is itself clear! And did the justice prevail? The answer has already been quoted above.
In the maximum number of cases in India including the Sabarimala Case, the legal maxim “Justice delayed is justice denied” prevails, which states that if legal redress or equitable relief to an injured party is available but is not forthcoming in a timely fashion, and it is effectively the same as having no remedy at all.[5] The meaning is itself clearing the current situation of the Sabarimala case.
Now the question arises, why there’s a delay in our Indian Justice System?
The only possible answer to it is, inadequate judges with a lack of efficiency, lack of courts, endless numbers of amendments in-laws, the habit of taking judgment by the lawyers is another reason behind the delay; the absence of work culture in court also results in delay. This problem can be solved by advancing our judiciary system, by increasing the number of judges at the local level for ordinary people too, by increasing courtrooms in India, and by appointing adequate and efficient lawyers and judges.
Conclusion
Women menstruating are still considered as unclean, their rights get violated now and then. People’s perspective has been locked out in four walls, which only believes in history instead of being practical. Once a person wrote “History isn’t about the truth. History is about perspectives. And it’s our job to distinguish why those perspectives are still recounted to this present day.” We need to start analyzing the situations instead of accepting those perspectives. Things have changed according to the modern world then why not perspectives?
As Indians are good at making stories, some say to respect the celibate nature of Lord Ayyappan, women’s entry is restricted but there might be a reason that the restrictions on women’s entry were for women’s betterment itself because during that period there were no sanitary napkins available and also people were not aware of it, so making the situation of menstruating women a bit convenient people would have banned the entry of women. As the above quote states, it’s all about accepting those old perspectives of which we don’t even have proof.
The reason behind the delayed verdict of Sabarimala Mala temple might be these unwritten theories and stories which made the procedure of justice much more complex. All we need to understand as a modern generation that this modern world needs a modern perspective for speedy justice.
Let’s end it up quoting “So lets for once keep our arrogance and deep-rooted misogyny aside and let our women do what they are willing to.”
References:
[1] “Sabarimala Case | Sabarimala Verdict: A Timeline of Temple Entry Issue Ahead of SC Verdict Today.” The Economic Times, economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/politics-and-nation/sabarimala-verdict-a-timeline-of-temple-entry-issue-ahead-of-sc-verdict-today/articleshow/72049026.cms. Accessed 9 Sept. 2020.
[2] India, The Hans. “Delay of Sabarimala Verdict Amounts to Denial of Justice to Women.” Www.Thehansindia.Com, 15 Nov. 2019, www.thehansindia.com/editors-desk/delay-of-sabarimala-verdict-amounts-to-denial-of-justice-to-women-581301?infinitescroll=1. Accessed 9 Sept. 2020.
[3] DelhiJanuary 18, India Today Web Desk New, et al. “51 Women below 50 Have Entered Sabarimala: Kerala.” India Today, www.indiatoday.in/india/story/51-women-enter-sabarimala-temple-1433823-2019-01-18. Accessed 9 Sept. 2020.
[4] “Sabarimala Temple Case: Supreme Court Declines to Pass Any Order for Safe Entry of Women.” The Economic Times, economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/politics-and-nation/sabarimala-supreme-court-declines-to-pass-any-order-for-safe-entry-of-women/articleshow/72513454.cms?from=mdr. Accessed 9 Sept. 2020.
[5] Wikipedia Contributors. “Justice Delayed Is Justice Denied.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 18 Nov. 2018, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Justice_delayed_is_justice_denied.
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