Supreme Court
The Supreme Court on Tuesday declined urgent hearing into a petition seeking review of the apex court's judgement allowing women of all ages into the Sabarimala Temple in Kerala.
A bench comprising Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi, Justices S K Kaul and K M Joseph had considered the submission of Shylaja Vijayan, president, National Ayyappa Devotees Association through Mathews J Nedumpara, which contended that the five-judge Constitution bench verdict lifting the ban was "absolutely untenable and irrational".
Contending that religious practices cannot be "tested on the basis of rationality", multiple petitions were filed on Monday in the Supreme Court to seek review of its September 28 verdict to lift a ban on entry of women in the 10-50 age group into the Sabarimala Temple in Kerala.
By a 4:1 verdict, a five-Judge Constitution Bench headed by then Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra (since retired) had said that the ban on women in menstruating age group, whose presence at the Lord Ayyappa temple was considered to be "impure", violated their fundamental rights and constitutional guarantee of equality.
Until now, girls below the age of 10 and women over the age of 50 were allowed to visit the hilltop shrine in the Western Ghats that is about 130 km from state capital Thiruvananthapuram.
The review petitions have been filed by Nair Service Society (NSS), People for Dharma, National Ayyappa Devotees Association and Chetana Conscience of Women, raising points of procedural error in the judgment.
