NEW DELHI : Women of all ages must be allowed in Kerala’s renowned Sabarimala temple, the Supreme Court ordered today, ending ban on the entry of women between 10 and 50 years.
“The practice of age restriction on women entry to sabarimala temple can’t be treated as an essential religious practice,” said the court in a majority four-one judgement. The only woman judge on the five-judge constitution bench, Justice Indu Malhotra, has a dissenting view.
Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra said devotion cannot be subjected to discrimination and patriarchal notion cannot be allowed to trump equality in devotion.
“Religion cannot be the cover to deny women right to worship. To treat women as children of lesser God is to blink at Constitutional morality,” he said.
For centuries, women of menstrual age were restricted from entering the temple as its presiding deity, Lord Ayyappa, is considered to be a celibate. A number of petitions had challenged the restrictions on the entry of women.
“Lord Ayappa is not a separate denomination,” said Justice Misra, who retires as Chief Justice of India on October 2.
“Religion is for one dignity with identity. Right to practice religion available to men and women,” he asserted.
Delivering another in a series of landmark rulings in his last week as top judge, Justice Misra said: “Rules based on biological characteristics will not muster constitution.”
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