NEW DELHI, INDIA, November 7, 2001: A Constitution Bench of the Supreme Court upheld the validity of the commission of sati (Prevention) Act 1987, which bans sati and its glorification, but held that the act did not apply to existing sati temples. The 1987 Act was enacted in the wake of the suicide of Roop Kanwar on the pyre of her husband in September, 1987 at Deorala in Rajasthan. There are, however, a number of ancient temples, many in Rajasthan, upon the site where a widow had committed sati in the past. The contention on behalf of the sati temples involved in the legal action was that the temples and the devotees concerned neither observed any ceremony in connection with the practice of sati, nor did they support or glorify the commission of sati as defined under the Act.
A daily summary of world news for Hindus and non-Hindus alike