In an unprecedented move, the minority cell of the Mumbai Congress has decided to approach the apex court, seeking to quash down the high court order that has lifted the ban on women's entry to the inner sanctum of the Haji Ali shrine.

The minority cell is seeking continuation of the ban, this time on “religious grounds”.

The shrine management had imposed the ban in 2011, calling it a move for “women’s safety”, an argument which was quashed by the HC on Friday.

The cell held an urgent meet on Friday afternoon, soon after the HC verdict, to devise its strategy. Within an hour, it not only firmed its earlier stand and decided to move further to fight the case on “religious grounds”, but also appointed advocate ZK Faizan, who will represent the party in the SC.

Confirming the fast-track development, president of the cell Nizamuddin Rayeen told dna, “We will go to the apex court to get the HC order quashed. ZK Faizan will fight the case in SC on our behalf.”

“After going through the detailed order of HC, we have come to the conclusion that the 'religious' angle in the case was completely left out by the Haji Ali trust, which mainly sought to justify the ban, making it a women's safety issue. However, this is a religious matter and the trust has every right to impose such a ban. We seek to bring this angle in our petition to the Supreme Court,” he added.

Rayeen had shot to fame in May after giving an interview to dna in which he had not only supported the Dargah management, but also condemned the activists (Trupti Desai-led Bhumata Brigade and other NGOs) seeking equal rights to pray at Haji Ali shrine. He had also termed the issue as a “religious matter” of the community. He and the party were ridiculed on social media for such views.

This was for the first time that the Congress had come out in the open and supported the trust’s decision, which was regarded as “regressive” by various sections.

Minority Cell against Suryanamaskar, will move HC

President of city Congress minority cell Nizamuddin Rayeen confirmed that it will approach the HC to oppose BMC’s recent circular that makes Suryanamaskar compulsory in all civic schools. “Yoga is fine, but why insist on Suryanamaskar? One can do Yoga at night also. Through a petition, we want an assurance that no other such religious practices would be imposed on schools,” he said. The Samajwadi Party has also threatened to take BMC to court on the issue and held a protest on Friday.