Bombay High Court has allowed women's entry in Mumbai's Haji Ali dargah.
Bombay HC has asked the Maharashtra to give necessary protection to the respondents. The court has said that the ban imposed on women is contrary to the fundamental rights of a person as provided in Constitution
The HC also says women should be permitted in the dargah along with men and Maharashtra government should ensure their safety.
The decision was welcomed by the petitioners. "Very happy, this is a great step towards justice for Muslim women," Zakia Soman one of the petitioner said.
However, the trust will approach the apex court. "The HC should not have interfered but now that they have given a decision against us we will approach Supreme Court," said Haji Rafat, MIM
A two-judge division bench of the high court, comprising of Justice V M Kanade AMD and Justice Revati Mohite Dhere will pronounced the verdict.
The ban was imposed in 2012 by the Haji Ali Dargah Trust citing some religious traditions as the reason.
The PIL was filed by women activists Noorjehan Niaz and Zakia Soman and the NGO Bharatiya Muslim Mahila Andolan.
The Haji Ali Trust, as the respondent in the case, defended the ban saying that the entry of women in close proximity to the tomb of a male saint would be seen as a grievous sin in Islam.
The Maharashtra government had in February told the Bombay High Court that unless the Dargah Board is able to prove that the ban is a part of their religious practice with reference to the Quran, women should be allowed to enter the sanctum sanctorum of Haji Ali.
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.
