Sabarimala

seven other matters linked to faith.

In its 3:2 ruling delivered on Thursday, the apex court did not suspend its landmark order, with justice Rohinton Nariman, who authored the minority dissenting judgment, explicitly asking the Kerala government to ensure strict compliance with the 2018 verdict. But the state administration has since refused to provide security to women devotees of childbearing age, saying it will consult with experts before deciding on the issue.

A posse of at least 10,000 security personnel have been deployed to maintain order at the base camp. Women police officers asked all female devotees to show documents to prove their age. “We are simply following the orders of our superiors,” a woman inspector said on condition of anonymity.

One of the women sent back, 42-year-old Padmavati Naidu, said she was told that the top court had lifted all restrictions on the entry of women. “I did not expect this fate. When I told police officers about this, they had no replies either,” she said, fighting back tears.

The Travancore Devasom Board, which runs the temple, underplayed the incident. “There was no checking. We apprised them about our difficulties and they went back,” said the newly appointed TDB president N Vasu.

The government’s stand and the police action angered reformists and women activists.

“It is sad that the police are back to the same old tactics. The Supreme Court has made it clear that there is no stay on its 2018 verdict. How can they prevent women like this? It seems the government is bowing before trouble-makers and some zealots,” said Bindhu Ammini, one of two women who were the first to enter the temple in January this year. She said she will move court against the police action.

Activist and Bhumata Brigade leader Trupti Deasi, who has announced her plan to visit the temple, also criticised the state government. “The state is bound to go by the 2018 verdict of the Supreme Court. It is the state’s responsibility to give protection to women,” she said.

Legal experts blamed the state government and police. “Preventing women from offering prayers at the temple constitutes contempt of the Supreme Court. It is sad that the Kerala government is not doing anything to aid the entry of women in the temple,” said Supreme Court advocate Viplav Sharma.

“The court has categorically held that women have a right to pray at the temple. Even though the court has referred the matter to a seven-judge bench, there is