Mumbai: In a significant judgement, the Bombay High Court today lifted the ban imposed on women from entering the sanctum sanctorum of Haji Ali dargah here, saying it contravenes the fundamental rights of a person.

The court has, however, stayed its order for six weeks following a plea by Haji Ali Dargah Trust, which wants to challenge it in the Supreme Court.

“The ban imposed on women from entering the Haji Ali dargah is contrary to Articles 14, 15, 19 and 25 of the Constitution of India. Women should be permitted to enter the dargah on par with men,” a division bench of Justices V M Kanade and Revati Mohite Dere said.

Under the said Articles, a person is guaranteed equality before law and has the fundamental right to practice any religion he or she wants. They prohibit discrimination on grounds of religion, gender and so on, and provide freedom of conscience and free profession, practice and propagation of religion.

The bench allowed a PIL filed by two women, Zakia Soman and Noorjehan Niaz, challenging the ban on women’s entry in the sanctum sanctorum of the dargah.

“The state government and the Haji Ali Dargah Trust will have to take proper steps to ensure safety and security of women entering the dargah,” the court said.

The high court had in June this year reserved its verdict on the petition.

The PIL states that gender justice is inherent in Quran and the decision contravenes the Hadith, which proves that there is no prohibition on women visiting graves.

The Maharashtra government had earlier told the court that women should be barred from entering the inner sanctorum of Haji Ali dargah only if it is so enshrined in the Quran.

The ban on women’s entry cannot be justified if it is on the basis of an expert’s interpretation of the Quran, the then Maharashtra Advocate General Shrihari Aney had argued.

The dargah trust had defended its stand saying that it is referred in Quran that allowing women close proximity to the dargah of a male saint is a grievous sin.

Divulging the details of the judgment, Raju More, the petitioner lawyer, said, “Today, the Bombay High Court has given its reserved judgment and set aside the ban which was imposed on the entry of women and they have restored the status quo ‘anti’, that means earlier position when women were allowed has been restored.”

Advocate Shoaib Memon, appearing for the trust had earlier said, “Women are not allowed inside mosques in Saudi Arabia. They are given a separate place to pray. We (trust) have not barred women. It is simply regulated for their safety. The trust not only administers the dargah but also manages the affairs of religion.

The lawyer further said that after the pronouncement of the judgment, the Haji Ali Trust said that they wish to go to the Supreme Court and want an eight-week stay.

“I opposed it. I said that since its a restoration of the earlier position, there is no need to grant stay. But the high court felt and rightly so that this is an important constitutional issue and, therefore, they have granted six weeks stay on the operation of the order,” he said.

Therefore, the women will not be allowed to enter the sanctum sanctorum of the dargah for the next six weeks.

The ban was imposed in 2012 by the Haji Ali Dargah Trust citing some religious traditions as the reason.

The trust had claimed that separate arrangements have been made for women to walk up to a certain point from where they can offer prayers, but are not permitted to touch the tomb of a male saint as it is a sin in Islam.

(IANS)

Bengaluru: Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah today conveyed the state’s inability to release Cauvery water for farmers in Tamil Nadu due to deficit rainfall in the river basin area.

“There is deficit rainfall in the Cauvery basin area, so in the present situation it will be difficult to release water for irrigation purpose,” he told a delegation of farmers from Tamil Nadu who met him here.

According to the CMO officials, Siddaramaiah said if there were good rains in the days to come and the situation improved, water would be released.

The farmer leaders, who met the Chief Minister at his residence, requested him to release water for samba crop in nine lakh acres, stating that in the absence of water, they might have to face difficulty due to crop damage.

Pointing out that the water level at dams in the Cauvery basin area had not reached expected levels, Siddaramaiah said the situation was such that there would be difficulty in providing drinking water.

“In this circumstance, we will be unable to release water even under distress formula. Please understand our situation,” he told the farmers.

Siddaramaiah has called the meeting of floor leaders of the state Legislative Assembly and the Council on August 27 to discuss Tamil Nadu’s repeated demands for release of water and the situation in Cauvery basin area due to deficit rain fall.

Union ministers from the state and district-in-charge ministers from Cauvery basin area have also been invited for the meeting, officials said.

The Tamil Nadu government has moved the Supreme Court to get its share of Cauvery water. Siddaramaiah had recently said his government was also ready for the legal battle.

Speaking to reporters on the issue, Karnataka Water Resources minister M B Patil said the state government will apprise the Supreme Court, Centre and Cauvery Supervisory Committee about the situation.

“Tamil Nadu is demanding the release of water. Chief Minister has already said that water is not sufficient for drinking water supply. We have cautioned our farmers about the situation and crops they are going to undertake, but Tamil Nadu is asking for Samba crop. It is a very difficult situation,” he said.

On the proposed Mekedatu dam project across Cauvery River, which is being opposed by Tamil Nadu, Patil said Detailed Project Report (DPR) was ready and the draft of it will be placed before the Cabinet next week.

It would be a Rs 5,900 crore project and there would be no shortage of funds, he said, adding it would not affect Tamil Nadu’s interests.

Patil said the dam would have a capacity of 67 TMC, bigger than KRS (Krishna Raja Sagar) which can store 45 TMC of water.

Noting that Tamil Nadu was having objections to the project, Patil said, “We will disclose the project to the Supreme Court, Central Water Commission and concerned Central government ministries. We will proceed with the project legally, convincing every one.

The project we have prepared is very clear, it is practically feasible.” Stating that the project will be initiated in this government’s tenure itself, Patil added it will also have a 300 MW power generation facility.
farmers.

Siddaramaih has called the meeting of floor leaders of the state Legislative Assembly and the Council on August 27 to discuss Tamil Nadu’s repeated demands for release of water and the situation in Cauvery basin area due to deficit rain fall.

Union ministers from the state and district-in-charge ministers from Cauvery basin area have also been invited for the meeting, officials said.

The Tamil Nadu government has moved the Supreme Court to get its share of Cauvery water. Siddaramaih had recently said his government was also ready for the legal battle.

Speaking to reporters on the issue, Karnataka Water Resources minister M B Patil said the state government will apprise the Supreme Court, Centre and Cauvery Supervisory Committee about the situation.

“Tamil Nadu is demanding the release of water. Chief Minister has already said that water is not sufficient for drinking water supply. We have cautioned our farmers about the situation and crops they are going to undertake, but Tamil Nadu is asking for Samba crop. It is a very difficult situation,” he said.

On the proposed Mekedatu dam project across Cauvery River, which is being opposed by Tamil Nadu, Patil said Detailed Project Report (DPR) was ready and the draft of it will be placed before the Cabinet next week.

It would be a Rs 5,900 crore project and there would be no shortage of funds, he said, adding it would not affect Tamil Nadu’s interests.

Patil said the dam would have a capacity of 67 TMC, bigger than KRS (Krishna Raja Sagar) which can store 45 TMC of water.

Noting that Tamil Nadu was having objections to the project, Patil said, “We will disclose the project to the Supreme Court, Central Water Commission and concerned Central government ministries. We will proceed with the project legally, convincing every one.

The project we have prepared is very clear, it is practically feasible.” Stating that the project will be initiated in this government’s tenure itself, Patil added it will also have a 300 MW power generation facility.

(Agencies)

New Delhi: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi today told the Supreme Court that he had never blamed RSS as an institution that killed Mahatma Gandhi but had stated that a person associated with it was responsible for his assassination.

A bench comprising Justices Dipak Misra and R S Nariman, which was hearing the petition filed by Gandhi challenging the summons issued to him as an accused in a defamation case, said it will dispose of the petition if the complainant agreed.

The bench noted that the Congress leader had filed an affidavit in the Bombay High Court while seeking quashing of the defamation complaint against him stating that, at an election rally, he had not blamed RSS as an institution for the assassination of Gandhi but a person associated with it.

The bench, which posted the matter for September 1, asked the complainant’s counsel and senior advocate U R Lalit to seek instruction whether the complainant was ready to end the case if Gandhi’s statement is taken on record.

Senior advocate Kapil Sibal, appearing for the Congress Vice President, drew the attention of the bench to the affidavit filed in the high court.

The bench, which heard the matter for about half-an-hour, said “what we understand is that the accused never blamed RSS as an institution that killed Mahatma Gandhi but the person associated with it.”

The apex court had on July 27 criticised the trial court in Maharashtra for asking the police to probe the criminal defamation complaint lodged against Gandhi for his remarks allegedly accusing RSS for assassination of Mahatma Gandhi.

The apex court’s remarks had come after the same bench said that the Congress leader should not have resorted to “collective denunciation” of an organisation (RSS) and will have to face trial if he does not express regret.

Rajesh Mahadev Kunte, secretary of Bhiwandi unit of RSS, had alleged in his complaint that Gandhi told in an election rally at Sonale on March 6, 2015 that the “RSS people killed Gandhiji”. The case is pending before a magisterial court in Bhiwandi in Maharashtra’s Thane district.

Earlier, the bench had questioned the speech and wondered “why he had made a speech quoting wrong historical fact”.

The penal provisions make defamation an offence punishable with up to a two-year jail term.

Kunte had alleged that the Congress leader had sought to tarnish the reputation of RSS through his speech.

Following the complaint, the magistrate’s court had initiated proceedings and issued notice to Gandhi directing him to appear before it. The Congress leader was summoned to appear before the trial court on January 6 this year.

Gandhi had then approached the High Court seeking exemption from appearance and quashing of the case.

The High Court had dismissed the petition and refused to grant stay on its order, leading to an appeal in the Supreme Court.

(PTI)

Kolkata: A powerful earthquake measuring 6.7 on the Richter Scale and epicentred in Myanmar today shook several parts of east and northeast India.

According to National Centre for Seismology, a unit of Ministry of Earth Sciences, the epicenter of the quake was in Myanmar and it occurred at 4:04 PM at a depth of 58 kms.

Tremors were felt in Bihar, West Bengal and northeastern states in India, spreading panic among people

There were no immediate reports of loss to life or property.

The northeast is one of the most earthquake-prone regions in the world.

(Agencies)