india

Updated: Jan 17, 2019 23:19 IST

The two women who entered Kerala’s Sabarimala shrine on January 2, defying traditionalists opposed to female devotees aged between 10 and 50 years offering worship at the temple, moved the Supreme Court on Thursday, seeking police protection.

Senior advocate Indira Jaising appeared before a bench led by Chief Justice of India (CJI) Ranjan Gogoi and requested an urgent hearing, saying it was a matter of life and liberty for the two women, Kanakadurga, 39, and Bindu Ammini, 40. CJI Gogoi listed the matter for hearing on Friday.

“Issue writ of mandamus directing authorities to provide full security, 24x7, to the two women who have entered the temple, and to deal with protesters indulging in acts of violence, physical and/or verbal on social media or otherwise against them in accordance with the law,” the petition said.

Also watch: Protests erupt after 2 women attempt to enter temple

The plea sought a court direction to all authorities to allow women of all age groups to enter the temple without any hindrance and to ensure security and safe passage, including police security to women wishing to enter the temple.

In September. a Supreme Court bench ordered the shrine’s doors to be thrown open to women of all ages, overturning a decades-old ban on the entry of female devotees of childbearing age, imposed on grounds that the presiding deity, Lord Ayyappa, is a celibate. The court order enraged traditionalists, who won the support of both the Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party in their fight to keep women in the taboo age group out of the temple.

Protestors foiled the entry of women aged below 50 years into Sabarimala until Kanakadurga and Bindu Ammini, with a police escort, entered the shrine.

Their entry sparked widespread unrest in Kerala. Fearing a backlash, the two women stayed in an undisclosed location under state protection for almost two weeks.