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No law to prevent women entering places of worship: HC

Published

9 years ago

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bombay hcMumbai: The Bombay High Court on Wednesday observed that there is no law to prevent women from entering a place of worship and if men are allowed, women too should be permitted.

The observation came during a public interest litigation filed by lawyer Nilima Vartak and activist Vidya Bal who have challenged the ban on entry of women at the well known Shani Shingnapur Temple in Ahmednagar district.

A division bench comprising Chief Justice D.H. Waghela and Justice M.S. Sonak said that any temple or person imposing such restrictions could attract a six-month jail term in Maharashtra.

“If a male can go and pray before the deity, then why not women; and it is the duty of the state government to protect women’s rights,” Chief Justice Waghela said.

“If the concerns were about the sanctity of the deity then the state government must make such a statement,” the court said, and pointed out that under the Maharashtra Hindu Place of Worship (Entry Authorisation) Act, any temple or person banning any person from entering a temple can face a six-month jail term.

Directing the government to give wide publicity to the law and issue circulars for the benefit of the general public, it asked the government pleader A. Vagyani to make a statement whether the government would ensure entry for women in the temple.

The petitioner has sought entry for women not just inside the Shani Shingnapur Temple, but also in its sanctum sanctorum, and said banning of women there is “illegal, arbitrary and violative of fundamental rights” of citizens.

Since the past few months the Shani Shingnapur Temple has been in the news after attempts were made by the Bhumata Ranragini Brigade (BRB) activists to storm its sanctum sanctorum.

The temple management has made it clear that women would not be permitted on the open-to-sky temple’s footsteps leading to the black stone signifying the sun god.

The BRB president Trupti Desai has said they would not relent till women are permitted full entry to the Shani Shingnapur Temple and also the Trimbakeshwar Temple in Nashik, where women are not allowed inside the sanctum sanctorum.

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What monkey fled with a bag containing evidence in it: Read full story

Published

3 years ago

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May 5, 2022

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The court, generally, considers a person who commit a crime and the one who destroys the evidence, as criminals in the eyes of law. But what if an animal destroys the evidence of a crime committed by a human.

In a peculiar incident in Rajasthan, a monkey fled away with the evidence collected by the police in a murder case. The stolen evidence included the murder weapon (a blood-stained knife).

The incident came to light when the police appeared before the court and they had to provide the evidence in the hearing.

The hearing was about the crime which took place in September 2016, in which a person named Shashikant Sharma died at a primary health center under Chandwaji police station. After the body was found, the deceased’s relatives blocked the Jaipur-Delhi highway, demanding an inquiry into the matter.

Following the investigation, the police had arrested Rahul Kandera and Mohanlal Kandera, residents of Chandwaji in relation to the murder. But, when the time came to produce the evidence related to the case, it was found that the police had no evidence with them because a monkey had stolen it from them.

In the court, the police said that the knife, which was the primary evidence, was also taken by the monkey. The cops informed that the evidence of the case was kept in a bag, which was being taken to the court.

The evidence bag contained the knife and 15 other important evidences. However, due to the lack of space in the malkhana, a bag full of evidence was kept under a tree, which led to the incident.

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