The Supreme Court on Monday set up a nine-judge Bench to hear cases related to entry of women of menstruating age into Sabarimala shrine which had earlier created a political divide in the state of Kerala and triggered a heated debate whether a time-honoured temple-tradition be replaced by modern law, giving equality to all on the question of entry to the famed temple.
The nine-judge Constitution Bench of the apex court will hear from January 13 the issue of allowing women and girls of all ages to enter Kerala’s Sabarimala temple along with other contentious issues of alleged discrimination against Muslim and Parsi women in mosque, dargarh and Parsi holy fire place of an “Agyari” respectively.
The top court issued a notice informing listing of petition filed by Indian Young Lawyers Association seeking review of its historic 2018 judgement allowing women and girls of all ages to enter Sabarimala temple.
“Take notice that the following matters will be listed for hearing before a Nine Judges Constitution Bench commencing from Monday the January 13, 2020,” the notice said.
On November 14, last year, a five-judge Constitution Bench in a 3:2 majority verdict had referred to a larger seven-judge Bench, the pleas seeking review of its historic 2018 judgement allowing women and girls of all ages to enter Sabarimala temple.
It had however said that the debate about the constitutional validity of religious practices like bar on entry of women and girls into a place of worship was not limited to the Sabarimala case.
The top court said such restrictions are there with regard to entry of Muslim women into mosques and ‘dargah’ and Parsi women, married to non-Parsi men, being barred from the holy fire place of an Agyari.
It said it was time for the apex court to evolve a judicial policy to do “substantial and complete justice”.
While saying last year that it will endeavour to constitute the larger Bench at the earliest to hear the matter, the top court had declined to pass any order on the pleas by two women activists seeking a direction to the Kerala Government to ensure safe entry of women in the Ayyappa temple under police protection.
The Left parties and the BJP in Kerala had earlier taken legal and traditional view on the entry of menstruating women into the temple and tried to arouse public opinion around their respective stands. With the apex court’s larger Bench set to hear the issue of equality of opportunity for entry of women in all religious places, the contentious issue of Sabarimala is expected to be settled along with other controversies relating to Muslim and Parsi communities.