Haji Ali Dargah to grant equal access to women

New Delhi: Women will be granted access to the inner sanctorum of the Haji Ali shrine in Mumbai on a par with men, the Dargah Trust told the Supreme Court on Monday and sought four weeks for making changes in the infrastructure. A bench of Chief Justice T.S. Thakur and Justices D.Y. Chandrachud and L. Nageswara Rao granted the trust’s request and disposed off its appeal against the August 26 Bombay High Court order asking it to give equal access to women. The 15^th century shrine. located on a rocky outcrop in the Arabian Sea 500m from the Mumbai coastline, houses the tomb of Sufi saint Haji Ali. On October 17, the apex court had extended the stay granted by the Bombay High Court to facilitate an appeal against it. The Supreme Court had earlier expressed hope that the trust would take a “progressive” stand. Senior advocate Gopal Subramanium, appearing for the trust, had assured the bench he was on a ”progressive mission” and said all holy books and scriptures promoted equality. The bench had said: “If you are not allowing both men and women to go beyond a point, there is no problem. But if you are allowing some to go beyond a point while others are not, it is a problem.” The trust had banned women from the inner sanctum in 2012. The trust says over 10,000 people from all religions visit the shrine on normal days. The High Court had held that the ban imposed by the trust on women from entering the inner sanctum of the Haji Ali Dargah, contravened Articles 14, 15 and 25 of the Constitution. The high court had held that the trust had no power to alter or modify the mode or manner of religious practices of any individual or any group. It had said the trust has not been able to justify the ban legally or otherwise. Hence it cannot be said that the prohibition was an essential and integral part of Islam and whether taking away that part of the practice would result in a fundamental change in the character of the religion or belief. It had also refused to accept the trust's justification that the ban was imposed for safety and security of women, in particular, to prevent sexual harassment at places of worship. The trust had claimed that the ban was in keeping with an order of the Supreme Court wherein stringent directions have been issued to ensure that there is no sexual harassment to women at places of worship. The court had noted that the aims, objectives and activities of the Haji Ali Dargah Trust were not governed by any custom or tradition and held that it was a public charitable trust and hence, open to people all over the world, irrespective of their caste, creed or gender.