Feature
No bar on women’s entry to any place of worship, rules Bombay HC
Mumbai:In a ruling with far-reaching implications, the Bombay High Court on Friday declared that no law prevents women from entering places of worship and there should be no gender discrimination as far as entering one is concerned.
The verdict by a division bench of Chief Justice D.H. Waghela and Justice M.S.Sonak came on PIL filed by activists Vidya Bal and senior lawyer Nilima Vartak challenging the age-old tradition prohibiting entry to women to the sanctum sanctorum of the world-famous Shani Shingnapur Temple in Maharashtra’s Ahmednagar district.
Disposing off the PIL, the judges also directed the Maharashtra government to take proactive steps to ensure compliance of the laws saying it is “the fundamental right of a woman” and must be protected.
On its part, the state government informed the court that it was totally opposed to gender discrimination and it would scrupulously implement the Maharashtra Hindu Place of Worship (Entry Authorisation) Act, 1956, which stipulated six months jail for violators.
Acting Advocate General Rohit Deo informed the court that a suitable circular or directive will be issued to all the district collectors and superintendents of police to make them aware of the act.
Directing the state home secretary to ensure due compliance and enforcement of the act, and issue directions to the district collectors and police chiefs, the judges accepted Deo’s submission.
Speaking to media persons, Vartak said that after the court’s verdict, “women can enter any temple” and have the right to exercise their religious freedom.
“It is unfortunate that we have to go to the court with a petition to enforce implementation of an act. Since a law is there, implementation also should be there,” Vartak added.
She pointed out that the court has not only delivered the verdict but assured implementation of its order and the government has promised to comply.
Expressing “happiness” over the court verdict, women’s activist organisation Bhumata Ranragini Brigade president Trupti Desai said she would lead a group of women to the temple on Saturday and pray at the sancturm sanctorum from where they have been barred for centuries.
Last Wednesday, the high court had pulled up the state government on the issue during the hearing of the PIL.
The high court had said it can only pass a general direction to the government and cannot delve into individual or specific cases, but if any person was aggrieved about the non-implementation of the act, he or she can approach the local authority for redressal.
Deo pointed out that if a temple in Maharashtra prohibits any person, irrespective of gender, inside the sanctum sanctorum, then the act and its provisions would not apply, but if they permit men and bar women, then its provisions can be used.
Women devotees are not allowed to worship at Shani Shingnapur Temple, dedicated to Lord Shanidev – the personification of planet Saturn.
The issue came to forefront when an unknown woman “accidentally” climbed on the open-to-sky sanctum sanctorum and offered prayers in November 2015, kicking of a major controversy.
Demanding entry to the sanctum sanctorum, around 500 women of the BRB attempted to storm the temple on January 26, but were stopped by police around 90 km away.
In the meantime, history was created in January when Anita Shetye was unanimously elected to head the temple Trust, and another woman Vaishali Lande was appointed a trustee.
The State Scores Extra High on Gaming-Friendly Industry Index
Meghalaya scored 92.85 out of 100 possible points in a Gaming Industry Index and proved to be India’s most gaming-friendly state following its recent profound legislation changes over the field allowing land-based and online gaming, including games of chance, under a licensing regime.
The index by the UK India Business Council (UKIBC) uses a scale of 0 to 100 to measure the level of legalisation on gambling and betting achieved by a state based on the scores over a set of seven different games – lottery, horse racing, betting on sports, poker, rummy, casino and fantasy sports
Starting from February last year, Meghalaya became the third state in India’s northeast to legalise gambling and betting after Sikkim and Nagaland. After consultations with the UKIBC, the state proceeded with the adoption of the Meghalaya Regulation of Gaming Act, 2021 and the nullification of the Meghalaya Prevention of Gambling Act, 1970. Subsequently in December, the Meghalaya Regulation of Gaming Rules, 2021 were notified and came into force.
All for the Tourists
The move to legalise and license various forms of offline and online betting and gambling in Meghalaya is aimed at boosting tourism and creating jobs, and altogether raising taxation revenues for the northeastern state. At the same time, the opportunities to bet and gamble legally will be reserved only for tourists and visitors.
“We came out with a Gaming Act and subsequently framed the Regulation of Gaming Rules, 2021. The government will accordingly issue licenses to operate games of skill and chance, both online and offline,” said James P. K. Sangma, Meghalaya State Law and Taxation Minister speaking in the capital city of Shillong. “But the legalized gambling and gaming will only be for tourists and not residents of Meghalaya,” he continued.
To be allowed to play, tourists and people visiting the state for work or business purposes will have to prove their non-resident status by presenting appropriate documents, in a process similar to a bank KYC (Know Your Customer) procedure.
Meghalaya Reaches Out to a Vast Market
With 140 millions of people in India estimated to bet regularly on sports, and a total of 370 million desi bettors around prominent sporting events, as per data from one of the latest reports by Esse N Videri, Meghalaya is set to reach out and take a piece of a vast market.
Estimates on the financial value of India’s sports betting market, combined across all types of offline channels and online sports and cricket predictions and betting platforms, speak about amounts between $130 and $150 billion (roughly between ₹9.7 and ₹11.5 lakh crore).
Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and Delhi are shown to deliver the highest number of bettors and Meghalaya can count on substantial tourists flow from their betting circles. The sports betting communities of Karnataka, Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh and Haryana are also not to be underestimated.
Among the sports, cricket is most popular, registering 68 percent of the total bet count analyzed by Esse N Videri. Football takes second position with 11 percent of the bets, followed by betting on FIFA at 7 percent and on eCricket at 5 percent. The last position in the Top 5 of popular sports for betting in India is taken by tennis with 3 percent of the bet count.
Local Citizens will Still have Their Teer Betting
Meghalaya residents will still be permitted to participate in teer betting over arrow-shooting results. Teer is a traditional method of gambling, somewhat similar to a lottery draw, and held under the rules of the Meghalaya Regulation of the Game of Arrow Shooting and the Sale of Teer Tickets Act, 2018.
Teer includes bettors wagering on the number of arrows that reach the target which is placed about 50 meters away from a team of 20 archers positioned in a semicircle.
The archers shoot volleys of arrows at the target for ten minutes, and players place their bets choosing a number between 0 and 99 trying to guess the last two digits of the number of arrows that successfully pierce the target.
If, for example, the number of hits is 256, anyone who has bet on 56 wins an amount eight times bigger than their wager.
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