Petitions challenging Sabarimala temple verdict submitted in Supreme Court

One of the petitioners, The Nair Service Society,  said the verdict can't be a match for the voice of the people and that it affects the fundamental rights of millions of devotees of Ayyappa.

The other petitioner, the president of the National Ayyappa Devotees Association, said those who had approached the Supreme Court for lifting the age restriction on women are not devotees of Lord Ayyappa, the temple's chief deity.

Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan criticised those protesting and said the state government will implement the Supreme Court verdict. "Filing a review petition is against the stand. It is the responsibility of the government to implement the verdict of the Supreme Court. It is not the policy of the government to fight with believers. Their interest will be protected. The government is ready for discussion," Mr Vijayan said at a press conference. "The people of Kerala faced the recent unprecedented floods unitedly but deliberate efforts are now being made to destroy that unity, to destroy the secular fabric," he has been quoted as sayig.

The representatives of the Sabarimala temple's chief priest have decided to skip a key meeting called by Mr Vijayan today to discuss the September 28 verdict.

Hundreds of devotees took part in marches last week, protesting the ruling Left government's decision to implement the top court verdict without going for a review.

The the five judge Constitution bench headed by then Chief Justice Dipak Misra, while lifting the ban, said it was upholding rights to equality of worship. The court had said that banning the entry of women into the shrine is gender discrimination and that the practice violates rights of Hindu women.