With two days left for the doors of Sabarimala to be opened for worship when the Supreme Court sought the help of a bigger bench. The five-judge bench has deferred the judgment saying it needs to ascertain constitutional grounds in the matter. The decision regarding the entry of women in the Ayyapa temple is still hanging in the air.
Crux of the Matter
Sabarimala verdict was given in 2018 by the SC in favor of the entry of the women aged 10-50 in the temple.
Thursday, the five-judge bench reviewed 65 petitions, of which 56 were review petitions, 5 transfer pleas, and 4 new writs. The open court session heard pleas from the Travancore Devaswom Board (TDB), Nair Service Society, Thantry Temple and others.
TDB was earlier of the opinion that the entry of women should be banned. However, in its latest position, TDB was in support of the entry of the women of all ages in the Ayyapa temple.
The bench is seeking the help of a larger bench for the re-evaluation of the matter based on some religious conflicts like the genital mutilation of women of Bohra sect, entry of women in mosques, among others.
The 3:2 split of the bench said that women were banned at various other religious places as well and that the SC should develop a common approach for such religious issues.
Curiopedia
Sabarimala Temple is a Hindu temple dedicated to Ayyappan situated at Sabarimala in Pathanamthitta District, Kerala, India. In the past, women devotees of menstruating age were not permitted to worship here, this ban being said to be out of respect to the celibate nature of the deity in this temple. A Kerala high-court judgement had legalized this interpretation, and forbade women from entering the temple since 1991. In September 2018, a judgement of the Supreme Court of India ruled that all pilgrims regardless of gender, including women in the menstruating age group, should be allowed entrance to Sabarimala. Read More
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