Supreme Court Refers Sabarimala Review To Larger Bench

The Supreme Court was today scheduled to pronounce its verdict on a batch of petitions seeking re-examination of its decision to allow entry of women of all age groups in Kerala’s Sabarimala Temple. The Supreme Court has referred the women’s entry issue in Sabarimala temple to a seven-judge larger bench. The Bench also clubbed the entry of women into Mosques, Parsi women to the tower of silence with the Sabarimala issue. The court has noted that in matters of religious belief courts must tread carefully.

There is no stay on the September 28 judgment as per which women were allowed entry in the shrine.

Speaking on the matter, CJI said, “Entry of women into places of worship is not limited to this temple (Sabarimala) only. It is also involved in the entry of women into mosques. Entry of Muslim women in mosques, Parsi women case and Dawoodi Bora case are also similar to issues in Sabrimala review petition.”

The apex court had delivered judgment on as many as 65 petitions which were filed after its verdict sparked violent protests in Kerala. The apex court, by a majority verdict of 4:1, on 28 September 2018, had lifted the ban that prevented women and girls between the age of 10 and 50 from entering the famous Ayyappa shrine in Kerala. It had held that this centuries-old Hindu religious practice was illegal and unconstitutional.

The violent protests after the verdict had seen a huge dip in the number of pilgrims who visited the temple and the revenue received by the Devaswom Board during the last season. While the number of pilgrims declined by about 50 percent, the revenue came down to Rs180.18 crore, compared to the 279.43 crores last year.

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