In a landmark judgement, the Bombay High Court on Friday lifted the ban imposed on women from entering the sanctum sanctorum of Haji Ali dargah in Mumbai, saying it contravenes the fundamental rights of a person.

It also ordered the state government and the Haji Ali Dargah Trust to take proper steps to ensure safety and security of women entering the dargah.

The court has, however, stayed its order for six weeks following a plea by Haji Ali Dargah Trust, which wants to challenge it in the Supreme Court.

Women were banned inside the inner shrine of the dargah in 2012 after Dargah Trust imposed a ban citing religious traditions as the reason.

A division bench of Justices V M Kanade and Revati Mohite Dere said the ban imposed on women from entering the Haji Ali dargah is contrary to Articles 14, 15, 19 and 25 of the Constitution of India. Women should be permitted to enter the dargah on par with men.

The bench allowed a PIL filed by two women, Zakia Soman, Noorjehan Niaz and NGO Bharatiya Muslim Mahila Andolan in 2014, challenging the ban on women’s entry in the sanctum sanctorum of the dargah.