Sabarimala: All-Women Entry To Continue Till Judgment Of Larger Bench; Annual Pilgrimage starts Nov 16

SC did not put a stay on its September 28, 2018 judgment which lifted the ban on the entry of women aged between 10 and 50 in the temple.

Indian Hindu devotees are pictured at the Lord Ayyappa temple at Sabarimala in the southern state of Kerala on October 18, 2018. (Photo by ARUN SANKAR / AFP)

New Delhi: The Supreme Court in its verdict on the Sabarimala issue, did not put a stay on its September 28, 2018 judgment which lifted the ban on the entry of women aged between 10 and 50 in the temple, but issued the case to larger bench comprising of seven judges. According to this order, women of all ages can visit the shrine till a larger bench decides this issue. Thursday’s verdict comes ahead of three days ahead of the beginning of the annual pilgrimage season at Sabarimala. The portals of the hill shrine, located in a reserve forest in Western Ghats in Pathanamthitta district of the state, would be opened for the two-month-long Mandalam Makaravilakku season on November 16 evening. The Supreme Court said that the restrictions on women in religious places was not limited to Sabarimala alone and was prevalent in other religions as well as it referred all review pleas to a larger seven-judge bench. Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi, reading the verdict on behalf of himself and Justices A M Khanwilkar and Indu Malhotra, said the larger bench will decide all such religious issues relating to Sabarimala, entry of women in mosques and practice of female genital mutilation in the Dawoodi Bohra community . Justices R F Nariman, D Y Chandrachud gave dissenting verdict in Sabarimala case. The CJI said the endeavour of the petitioners was to revive debate on religion and faith. The apex court, by a majority verdict of 4:1, on September 28, 2018, had lifted the ban that prevented women and girls between the age of 10 and 50 from entering the famous Ayyappa shrine in Kerala and had held that this centuries-old Hindu religious practice was illegal and unconstitutional. Check here for latest updates on SC verdict on the issue  Also watch| Sabarimala Verdict: No stay, women can continue to enter temple