Sabarimala protests: Stop playing to gallery, HC tells Pinarayi Vijayan govt

Thiruvananthapuram, Oct 27: The Kerala High Court made some strong observations against the Pinarayi Vijayan government in connection with the Sabarimala case.

Following the thousands of arrests made by the police, the court asked the government to stop playing to the gallery.

Arrests should be made only once the involvement of a person is made out. The government will have to pay a heavy price if any innocents are arrested, the Bench comprising Justices P R Ramachandran and Devan Ramachandran said.

The police have so far arrested over 2,000 people on the charge that they had taken part in the violent protests last week against the entry of women into the Sabarimala shrine.

The petitioners Suresh Kumar and Anoj Kumar of the Sabarimala Achara Samrakshana Samithi in their petition alleged that those who were part of peaceful protests were being targeted and harassed. In some cases, the police even took devotees into custody, they alleged.

While posting the matter for further hearing on Monday, the court sought to know if only devotees had reached Sabarimala. The court also directed the government not to appoint non-Hindus as Decaswom Commissioners. The government however assured the court that only Hindus would be appointed as the Commissioners of the Devaswoms.

Protests broke out following the verdict of the Supreme Court which permitted the entry of women of all age groups into the Sabarimala Temple. The Kerala police had launched a massive manhunt and registered 450 cases.