Bombay High Court quashes ban on women in Haji Ali Dargah

Removing the status of persona non grata for women at religious sites.

- Sanjeev Sirohi

The Bombay High Court has once again spoken very strongly in favour of women visiting any shrine wherever she wants to go. By doing so, it has only enhanced its own impeccable reputation further that it will not get cowed down under any pressure from anyone.

In a landmark judgment, the Bombay High Court on 26 August 2016 struck down a ban on women’s entry into the inner sanctum of Mumbai’s iconic Haji Ali Dargah thus paving the way for their smooth entry into it. This judgment has been rightly hailed as a landmark by activists fighting centuries-old tradition barring female worshippers from religious places in India.

One hopes that this will pave the entry of women into other shrines also where currently it is barred like in Kerala’s Sabarimala temple and Padmanabhaswamy temple, Patbausi Satra in Assam and Lord Kartikeya temple in Pushkar of Rajasthan.

A bench of Justices VM Kanada and Revati Mohite Dere of Bombay High Court very categorically held that the ban violated women’s fundamental rights and asked the state to ensure protection for female devotees.

The Bench allowed a PIL filed by two women, Zakia Soman and Noorjehan Niaz from NGO Bharatiya Muslim Mahila Andolan challenging the ban on women’s entry into the sanctum sanctorum of the Dargah from 2012.

The Bench has, however, stayed implementation of its order for 6 weeks, allowing the Trust to challenge it. The Trust said it will move the Supreme Court against the verdict.