New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Thursday directed Karnataka’s chief secretary to ensure that no girls are offered Thursday night or Friday as devotees to temples in a practice known as Devadasis.

The apex court bench headed by Chief Justice P Sathasivam, while issuing notice to the Karanataka government directed the chief secretary to take all “preventive measure in the conduct of the programmes to be held in the early hours of Feb 14, where girls are being dedicated as devotees to the temple”.

“We also direct the chief secretary (to ensure) that no such incident (of dedicating girls as devotees to temples) takes place either on Feb 13 or Feb 14.”

As counsel for a PIL petitioner mentioned the matter before the court, the chief justice observed: “Such an important matter and you (petitioner’s counsel) come at such belated stage?”