SABARIMALA TEMPLE ISSUE

 

For: Preliminary & Mains

Topics covered:

• About Sabarimala temple issue and recent Supreme Court verdict

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News Flash

A five-judge SC bench, in a 3:2 verdict, referred the Sabarimala temple issue to a larger bench of seven judges. The Supreme Court declined to stay its September 2018 judgement opening Kerala’s Sabarimala shrine to women of all ages.

 

Key highlights

• The 3:2 majority judgement also said the issue is not restricted to Sabarimala but concerns restrictions on the entry of women to other places of worship.
• The Constitution bench also suggested the larger bench look into pending cases in relation to

1. Entry of Muslim women to a dargah/mosque
2. Parsi women married to non-Parsis and their entry to a fire temple
3. Issues relating to female genital mutilation in the Dawoodi Bohra community

• The larger bench will look also the freedom of religion under Articles 25 and 26 of the Constitution with other fundamental rights,  particularly the right to equality, to recalibrating judicial decisions on constitutional morality and essential religious practices.

 

Sabarimala judgement

• The 2018 verdict had held unconstitutional the practice of barring women of menstrual age (between 10 and 50) from entering the temple.
• Recent SC verdict has transferred this case to a larger bench to decide on a gamut of issues around religion, the essentiality of religious practices, and constitutional provisions relating to freedom of religion.

 

What is the takeaway from the verdict?

The court has allowed the 2018 Sabarimala verdict to continue until the larger Bench is set up and decides the case conclusively. Based on what that Bench decides, the review can be dismissed or the 2018 order can be modified.

 

Important Information

• The Chief Justice of India has the administrative power to club similar cases together.

 

 

Source: Indian Express

 

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