Published On : Tue, Feb 9th, 2016

Fadnavis Govt backs entry of women in Haji Ali Dargah

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Haji Ali DargahNagpur: Presenting the state’s stand in the court during the hearing, Maharashtra Advocate General Sri Hari Ane clarified that the trustees and the committee of dargah are its administrators and they cannot regulate religion as per their own interpretation.

The Maharashtra government told the Bombay High Court today that women can’t be barred from entering Hali Ali Dargah. The high court is hearing a petition which challenges entry of women into the sanctum sanctorum of the shrine.

Presenting the state’s stand in the court during the hearing, Maharashtra Advocate General Sri Hari Ane clarified that the trustees and the committee of dargah are its administrators and they cannot regulate religion as per their own interpretation.

The court had earlier asked the trustees of the dargah, which houses the tomb of the 15th century Sufi saint Haji Ali, to reconsider its rules which bar women’s entry into the sanctum sanctorum.

“Entry of women in close proximity of grave of a male Muslim saint is a grievous sin in Islam,” the trustees of the Haji Ali Dargah had told the Bombay High Court during the previous hearing.

On January 18, the high court said it would wait for Supreme Court ruling on entry of women in Sabarimala temple of Kerala before deciding on the plea related to the dargah.

A bench of Justices V M Kanade and Reveti Mohite-Dere had said both matters involved entry of women in the religious shrines, and hence they would like to see what view the apex court would take on the issue before deciding on the PIL pending before them.

On January 29, several activists belonging to Muslim women groups held a protest outside the dargah demanding entry for females into the sanctum sanctorum.