New Delhi: Whether women of all ages, especially those between 10 to 50 years should be allowed to enter the renowned Sabarimala temple in Kerala will be decided by the Supreme Court on Friday.
The apex court verdict will be a historic one as at present women of the menstrual age, between 10 to 50 years, are restricted from entering the temple premises. It is believed that the residing deity of the temple, Lord Ayyappa, is considered to be a celibate.
A five-judge Constitution bench headed by Chief Justice Dipak Misra and comprising Justices RF Nariman, AM Khanwilkar, DY Chandrachud and Indu Malhotra’s verdict will determine whether the religious practice is discriminatory towards women.
A bench headed by CJI Misra had reserved its judgement on a bunch of petitions that challenge the ban on entry of women on August 1 after hearing the case for eight days.
The plea challenging the ban has been filed by petitioners Indian Young Lawyers Association and others.
During the hearings, the Travancore Devaswom Board which runs the over 800-year-old Lord Ayyappa temple, had told the apex court that the ban is not anti-women and is voluntarily accepted by them. But the top court underlined that the all customary or religious practices such as a ban on entry of women had to conform to constitutional principles.
The Kerala government had made it clear that it was in favour of allowing the entry of women of all ages to Sabarimala Ayyappa temple without any restriction.
The government said it is not against any sort of discrimination towards women or any section of the public in any way.
It said all persons are equally entitled to freedom of conscience and the Constitution gives right to worship to everyone equally. Hence it is not fair to deny a section of women from entering the temple.
