The Supreme Court on Wednesday refused to stay its September 28 verdict allowing entry of women of all age groups into the Sabarimala temple.
A bench headed by Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi asked a lawyer, who was seeking stay on its Sabarimala verdict, to wait till January 22 when the Constitution bench would hear review petitions. CJI Ranjan Gogoi said, “We’ll hear the matter only on Jan 22.”
The matter was mentioned by lawyer Mathews J Nedumpara, who has filed the review on behalf of the National Ayyappa Devotees (Women’s) Association.
It is to be noted that on September 28, a five-judge Constitution bench of the Supreme Court, headed by the then chief justice Dipak Misra, lifted the centuries-old ban on the entry of women of menstrual age into the shrine.
After the judgement, Kerala has witnessed massive protests by Lord Ayyappa devotees opposing the entry of girls and women of menstrual age into the Sabarimala temple since the government decided to implement the Supreme Court order. Over 3,000 people were arrested for creating a ruckus over the issue and over 500 people have been chargesheeted by the police for violence.
So far, no woman in the age group of 10-50 years has yet been able to visit Sabarimala temple since the top court’s order.
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