A day after pronouncing the stinging dissent he authored in the Sabarimala review case, Justice Rohinton Nariman on Friday rued the manner in which women who tried to enter the Sabarimala temple were violently prevented by “organised” resistance while the power centres in the country watched on.
The opinion, which was shared by Justices Nariman and D.Y. Chandrachud on the Constitution Bench, said it was a “sad spectacle” to see unarmed women trying to worship at the temple threatened with violence.
Justice Nariman, who authored the dissent, said the women worshippers were thwarted despite a judgment from the Supreme Court upholding their fundamental right to equality and worship at the temple.
Justice Nariman had written that a judgment of the Supreme Court was the law. It was up to the government, its ministers and its officials to firm up and implement the judgment. The dissent said anyone, be it the Prime Minister or a Chief Minister, who failed to follow the judgment violated the rule of law. Justice Nariman had asked the government to give the dissenting opinion maximum publicity.
On Friday, he asked Solicitor General Tushar Mehta in open court whether he had read the judgment. The judge said the dissent was “extremely important”. The Solicitor General should actually take the initiative to “educate and instruct that our judgments are not to be played with”.
“This is not the way people of the country should be treated,” Justice Nariman referred to the violence and agitations that followed the Sabarimala judgment of September 2018.
The judge’s comments came during a hearing on an appeal filed by the Enforcement Directorate against the Delhi High Court verdict granting bail to Karnataka Congress leader D K Shivakumar in a money laundering case.
