Now, women of all ages can enter Sabarimala temple in Kerala, says Supreme Court

New Delhi: The Supreme Court Friday paved the way for the entry of women of all ages into the famous Ayyappa temple at Sabarimala in Kerala.

The five-judge constitution bench headed by Chief Justice Dipak Misra, in its 4:1 verdict, said that banning the entry of women into the shrine is gender discrimination and the practice violates rights of Hindu women.

The CJI said religion is a way of life basically to link life with divinity.

While Justices R F Nariman and D Y Chandrachud concurred with the CJI and Justice A M Khanwilkar, Justice Indu Malhotra gave a dissenting verdict.

Justice Malhotra, the lone woman judge in the bench, passed a dissenting judgement and said that issues which have profound religious connotation should not be tinkered with to maintain the secular atmosphere in the country.

She was of the view that it is not for courts to determine which religious practices are to be struck down except in issues of social evil like 'Sati'.

Justice Malhotra said the right to equality conflicts with the right to worship of devotees of Lord Ayyappa.

She said the issue in this case not limited to Sabarimala only. It will have far-reaching implications for other places of worships.

The court passed four sets of separate judgements on a clutch of pleas challenging the ban on the entry of women of menstrual age in Kerala's Sabarimala temple saying law and society are tasked with the task to act as levellers.

The CJI said devotion could not be subjected to discrimination and patriarchal notion cannot be allowed to trump equality in devotion.

He said devotees of Lord Ayyappa do not constitute a separate denomination.

The CJI said the practice of exclusion of women of 10-50 age group could not be regarded as essential religious practice and Kerala law denies rights to women on the ground of physiological reasons.

Justice Nariman said the Sabarimala temple custom barring women of 10-50 age is not backed by Article 25 and 26 of the Constitution.

Justice Chandrachud said religion could not be used as cover to deny rights of worship to women and it is also against human dignity.

He said the prohibition on women is due to non-religious reasons and it is a grim shadow of discrimination going on for centuries. See P6