Sabarimala Row: Supreme Court to Hear 48 Review Petitions Today Against Verdict on Women Entry

On September 28, in a historic judgement, a five-judge constitution bench headed by then Chief Justice Dipak Misra had lifted the centuries-old ban on the entry of women of menstrual age into Lord Ayyappa shrine.

New Delhi: Ahead of the annual pilgrim season commencing this week, the Supreme Court will on Tuesday hear a batch of 48 petitions, seeking a review of its September 28 verdict that allowed women of all ages to enter the Sabarimala temple. The petitions would be taken up for consideration in-chamber by a bench of Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi and Justices R F Nariman, A M Khanwilkar, D Y Chandrachud and Indu Malhotra at 3 PM today.

Besides these pleas, three separate petitions seeking review of the verdict are also slated to come up for hearing in the open court before a bench comprising CJI Gogoi and Justices Sanjay Kishan Kaul and K M Joseph.

National Association of Aayappa Devotees, Nair Service Society, and 17 other organisation have moved the review petition seeking recall of September 28 verdict.

“Without holding that the questions raised related to matters of religion which are not within judicially manageable standards, the majority decision in substance has the effect of holding that the character of the deity can be altered based on individual faith and belief, in violation of the tenets of a particular religion and or religious sect,” the review plea by the Nair Service Society said.

The petitioners have also argued that besides “patent legal errors” in the verdict, the assumption that the temple practice is based on notions of menstrual impurity is “factually erroneous”.

On September 28,  in a historic judgement, a five-judge constitution bench headed by then Chief Justice Dipak Misra had lifted the centuries-old ban on the entry of women of menstrual age into Lord Ayyappa shrine. The apex court had said that banning the entry of women into the shrine was gender discrimination and that the practice violated rights of Hindu women.

However, defying the top court’s order, devotees did not allow any women to enter the shrine. Reports claimed that 14 women, including two journalists, have so far tried to offer prayers in the shrine with police security but their efforts went in vain as devotees and Sangh Parivar members stopped them midway.

Meanwhile, Pinarayi Vijayan-led Kerala government is likely to convene an all-party meeting today to discuss various matters relating to the temple. “We are thinking of having an all-party meeting. We have not taken a final decision yet. There are plans,” Devaswom Minister Kadakkampally Surendran told reporters.

(With inputs from agencies)