Plea in Delhi HC seeks entry of women in Nizamuddin Dargah, hearing next week likely

NEW DELHI: A group of women law students have filed a plea at the Delhi High Court seeking directions to the Centre and other authorities to allow the entry of women into the sanctum sanctorum of Hazrat Nizamuddin Auliya shrine. The plea is likely to come up for a hearing next week. In their PIL, filed on Thursday, the women contended that Nizamuddin Dargah is a public place and prohibiting women from entering into a shrine is gender discrimination and thus highly unconstitutional.

The litigants had come from Pune and had gone to the mausoleum of the 13th-century Sufi saint in New Delhi but found out that women were not allowed to enter the complex beyond a point. The petition claims that the law students tried to reach out to authorities over the matter, including the Delhi Police. But on not receiving any response, they decided to file a plea.

The PIL has been filed at a time when the Sabarimala issue is on the boil over the Supreme Court verdict that allowed women of all ages to enter the Lord Ayyappa shrine in Kerala. The plea further cites the example of two major Muslim shrines — Haji Ali Dargah in Mumbai and Khwaja Moinuddin Dargah in Ajmer — which don't restrict the entry of women.