New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Friday paved the way for the entry of women of all ages into the Ayyappa temple at Sabarimala in Kerala.
The five-judge constitution bench headed by Chief Justice Dipak Misra, in a majority judgment, , said banning the entry of women into the shrine is gender discrimination and the practice violates rights of Hindu women. It said religion is a way of life basically to link life with divinity.
The CJI said devotion cannot 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 also maintained the practice of exclusion of women of 10-50 age group cannot be regarded as essential religious practice and Kerala law denies rights to women on the ground of physiological reasons.
The apex court pronounced its verdict on a clutch of pleas challenging the ban on the entry of women of menstrual age in Kerala’s Sabrimala temple saying law and society are tasked with the task to act as levellers.
For centuries, women of menstrual age were restricted from entering the Sabarimala 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.
Yesterday, the Supreme Court had scrapped the adultery law saying it went against gender justice.
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Ms Kalinga