The Supreme Court has questioned the basis of a 2006 public interest litigation (PIL) that led to its landmark 2018 ruling allowing women of all ages into Kerala's Sabarimala temple. A nine-judge constitution bench observed that the petition 'ought not to have been entertained at all' and that the material on record should have been 'thrown in the dustbin'.
The court made the remarks while hearing a batch of matters arising from the Sabarimala review proceedings and connected questions on the scope of religious freedom. The bench expressed reservations about permitting individuals without faith in a particular deity to assert a right of entry into places of worship.
The ongoing Supreme Court proceedings in the reference originate from the court's 2018 judgment in 'Indian Young Lawyers Association vs State of Kerala', where a five-judge bench struck down the centuries-old practice barring women aged 10 to 50 from entering the Sabarimala Temple.
The present nine-judge bench is now examining broader constitutional questions, including the interplay between equality and religious freedom, the scope of the essential religious practices doctrine, and the extent to which courts can intervene in matters of faith.
