Question raised by HC upon restrains on women to perform puja at temples

The Delhi HC in a recent matter has questioned a priest that why can't a woman perform “ puja” and “ sewa” at temples. The HC raised this question after a priest sought for a judicial order to restrain his two sisters from sharing offerings at the famous Kalkaji temple in New Delhi. The HC bench stated that times have changed now and women cannot be barred from entering the Indian temples. The observation came when the counsel of the priest urged the bench to list the plea for urgent hearing, as the trial court had allowed his sisters to perform 'puja and sewa' and claim the shares in the offerings collected at the Kalkaji temple. The counsel contended that since the married daughters belong to different families and gotra, they have no rights to perform 'puja sewa.' He further contended that the trial court's order should be stayed and the priest's sisters should be restrained from performing the puja. When the issue came up for hearing before Justice J R Midha, he said notices have to be issued to the other party as the order of the trial court was passed after hearing both the parties. Thus, the matter was shifted to be heard on a different date. Meanwhile, the counsel for the petitioner stated that from time immemorial only male descendants of the family were entitled to the proceeds to offerings, since they perform puja and other rituals in the temple. He sought to restrain his sisters from claiming share of the collection of the offerings through 'sewa bari' (turn). The petitioner further stated that in the history of the Kalkaji temple, no woman has ever performed puja.

The question raised by the HC is valid enough, keeping in mind the present scenario where women are regarded to on a similar footing as their male counterparts. Women are playing a major role in every field today and thus why should they be restrained from performing puja sewa at temples? Being a citizen of India and the right to practice any profession of their choice is every woman's fundamental right which should not be curtailed or restrained in any manner.