A nine-judge Constitution Bench of the Supreme Court is scheduled to commence hearing from April 7 on the long-pending dispute concerning entry of women into the Sabarimala temple in Kerala, along with connected issues relating to women’s religious rights. The Bench will consider questions including women’s right to offer prayers in mosques, the practice of female genital cutting in the Dawoodi Bohra community, and entry of Parsi women into religious places.
The hearing is listed to continue from April 7 to April 22, during which final arguments will be heard in more than 50 petitions.
The Sabarimala dispute concerns a longstanding restriction on entry of women aged between 10 and 50 years into the temple, based on the belief that Lord Ayyappa is a celibate deity and that women of reproductive age are not permitted entry.
In 2018, a five-judge Constitution Bench of the Supreme Court, by a 4–1 majority, held the restriction unconstitutional and permitted entry of women of all age groups into the temple. The Court examined the issue in the context of Article 14 of the Constitution, which guarantees equality, and Article 25, which protects freedom of religion.
Following the 2018 judgment, protests were reported in Kerala. During this period, Bindu Kanakadurga and Bindu Ammini entered the temple under security protection. Subsequently, the temple was subjected to purification rituals, and the dispute continued.
The present proceedings arise out of review petitions filed against the 2018 judgment. The nine-judge Bench will consider whether the earlier decision is to be sustained or modified.
The Bench will also examine broader constitutional questions arising from the dispute. These include whether women of all age groups have the right to enter the Sabarimala temple; whether the practice of female genital cutting in the Dawoodi Bohra community violates fundamental rights; whether Muslim women can be denied the right to offer prayers in mosques; whether a Parsi woman married to a non-Parsi can be denied entry into a fire temple; and whether personal laws are subject to scrutiny on the touchstone of fundamental rights.
These issues have been pending before different courts for approximately 26 years and are now placed together before the Constitution Bench.
The dispute traces back to the 1990s, when the first legal challenge was raised against the restriction on entry of women. In 2006, the Supreme Court issued notices in the matter, and in 2008, it was referred to a three-judge Bench. The hearing resumed in 2016, and in 2017, the matter was referred to a five-judge Constitution Bench, which delivered its judgment in 2018 permitting entry of women.
In 2019, a seven-judge Bench referred the matter, along with related constitutional questions, to a nine-judge Bench. On January 13, 2020, the Court clarified that it would examine broader issues such as the balance between freedom of religion under Article 25 and the right to equality under Article 14, rather than directly deciding the review petitions. The hearing was subsequently interrupted due to the COVID-19 pandemic and has now resumed.
Submissions before the Court reflect differing positions of the Union government, religious organisations, and various communities. The Union government initially supported entry of women but later adopted a balanced position. Religious organisations have submitted that judicial intervention in matters of religion should be limited, while petitioners have contended that any form of discrimination against women is unconstitutional.
