Kottayam: Retired justice Kemal Pasha on Saturday termed the ongoing protests on Kerala roads over the recent the Supreme Court verdict allowing women of all age groups into Sabarimala temple as contempt of court.
“Political parties are misleading people on the verdict, eyeing votes. Instead of telling the court what they wanted to say, they are now trying to fool the people,” stated the former judge of Kerala High Court known for his candid comments.
“They should have taken care to ensure that the Sabarimala issue didn't go to court,” Pasha said. “The court has issued a verdict that is just.. Devout women can decide by themselves whether they want to undertake a pilgrimage to Sabarimala or not. There was no need to drag the issue on to the streets."
He said it's wrong to waste the court's time and the public's money on this issue when the country faces many important fundamental issues. “People need to think what benefit it brings after all.”
Until now, only girls below 10 years and women over 50 years were allowed to visit the hilltop shrine.
On September 28, in a 4:1 judgment, the apex court said the ban on women in the menstruating age group violated their fundamental rights and constitutional guarantee of equality.
The Kerala government's decision not to file a review petition against the verdict triggered massive protests across Kerala.
The former judge also added that the verdict was fine and that the review petition was not of much use. "Many people are uttering sheer nonsense," he added in this context.
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