Daijiworld Media Network – Bengaluru (DC)

Bengaluru, Sep 29: Women and child welfare minister Dr Jayamala on Friday welcomed historic verdict of Supreme Court on entry to Sabarimala and said that justice to the women in India was delivered.

Speaking to reporters, Jayamala said, "This is a historic verdict and has delivered justice to the women of this country. There cannot be greater happiness than this. I was pained by the incidents of the past. All the women of the country were pained by the ban. I was hopeful that our court would pass verdict in favour of us. The Supreme Court’s verdict has provided a balm for some of this hurt. We are grateful to Ambedkar's constitution and we need equality to prevail in the society. Women should be allowed to visit all the religious places,"

Jayamala also assured of providing all necessary help to women devotees who wish to go on pilgrimage to Sabarimala from the state government.

It may be recalled that former actor and Congress member of Legislative Council had stoked controversy after she claimed in 2006 that she had visited the Sabarimala temple when she was 27 years old. She had claimed that she touched the idol's feet in 1986. A case was registered against her by the Kerala police subsequently for deliberately offending religious sentiments. However the case was struck down by the Kerala high court in 2012.

In a historic judgement, the Supreme Court on Friday ended the decades-long custom that restricted women between 10 to 50 years in the Sabarimala Ayyappa temple in Kerala. In the verdict, Chief Justice ruled that gender cannot be used as a ground for restricting women from gaining entry to the temple.

However, the judgement has drawn mixed reactions from the devotees including women.