Can't decide on issue of women's entry in Haji Ali: Bombay High Court

The Bombay High Court on Tuesday indicated that it will not be able to decide on the matter regarding gender discrimination at Haji Ali dargah, where women are not allowed inside the inner sanctum.

A division bench of justices V M Kanade and Revati Mohite Dhere reiterated that matters such as these should be decided by the trust and the parties involved, and settled amicably. They said, "Normally, the court does not interfere in such matters. When it comes to religious matters, people are very sensitive."

The court also cited the example of Goolrookh M Gupta, who had challenged the rationale behind a "misogynistic" judgment by Gujarat High Court, which had upheld Valsad Parsi Anjuman Trust's decision to bar her from offering prayers at the Agiyari after she married a Hindu. The bench said, "The high court had not interfered in that matter and the parties got some relief after they approached the Supreme Court."

Appearing for petitioner Noorjehan Niaz, advocate Raju Moray informed the court that "today the atmosphere is such that everything is taken in another way", to which the court replied that "this is an era of intolerance."

The court has now posted the petition for further hearing on December 15. Earlier, the trustees of Haji Ali dargah had told the court that entry of women in close proximity to the grave of a male Muslim saint is considered a grievous sin in Islam.

The trust told the court in October that a meeting had been organised after the HC asked the trust to reconsider its decision, and the members unanimously decided not to allow women in the sanctum sanctorum. The trust argued that the bar on entry was meant to protect women from "uncomfortable situations" and was restricted only to the sanctum sanctorum.

The petitioners, however, claim that gender justice is inherent in Quran and the norm at the dargah contravenes the Hadiths, which say that women are not prohibited from visiting tombs. The restriction emanates from "a very conservative and extremist Salafi ideology" and in future "there may be an order banning the entry of women in the dargah complex and banning non-Muslims wholly," the petition argued.