The Supreme Court expressed alarm at the apparent lack of concern shown by the government’s delay in filing a response to a PIL petition against the practice of dedicating girls as “Devadasis” to temples.
The Social Justice Bench led by Justice Madan B. Lokur pulled up the Centre on a writ petition filed by the Kerala-based NGO S.L. Foundation, represented by advocate M.K. Biju, who argued that young girls were forced into the Devadasi system and eventually pushed into prostitution. The court gave the Centre a four-week deadline to come clear about what steps it had taken so far to end the social evil.
The petition highlighted the dedication of Dalit girls as Devadasis at the Uttangi Mala Durga Temple in Davanagere district in Karnataka in February 2014. The apex court had earlier called the age-old practice a “national shame” and directed the Karnataka government to ensure that no such function took place. The NGO had contended on the basis of a National Commission for Women (NCW) report that the practice still continued at several places and at least 2.5 lakh Dalit girls were dedicated to temples on the Karnataka-Maharashtra border.
The Social Justice Bench comprising Justice U.U. Lalit questioned Additional Solicitor-General Pinky Anand, appearing for the Union government, over the government’s inability and delay to inform about the steps taken to curb the evil.
The Bench had earlier sought the government to file its response to chalk out the steps taken for the abolition of the system, prevailing in Beriya and Nat communities.
