Supreme Court judge BV Nagarathna expressed her doubts about the application of Article 17 in the Sabarimala case, saying that treating women as 'untouchable' for three days a month is unacceptable.
Nagarathna, the lone woman on a nine-judge bench, made the remark while hearing petitions related to discrimination against women at religious places, including the Sabarimala temple in Kerala.
She was expressing doubts about the Centre's objection to an observation in the 2018 Sabarimala judgment, which stated that the exclusion of women from the temple on the basis of age or menstrual status was a form of 'untouchability'.
Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for the Centre, submitted that the bar on the entry of women in Sabarimala was not related to menstruation, but only on the basis of age group.
Mehta said that Lord Ayyappa temples across the country and the world are open to women of all ages, and the restriction at Sabarimala is a 'sui generis case'.
