‘Why women can’t enter Sabarimala temple’, asks Supreme Court

The Supreme Court on Monday asked why can not women be allowed to enter the Sabarimala temple in Kerala.

“It is our view that the temple can not prohibit entry except on the basis of religion”.

The Bench today comprised of Justices Dipak Misra, PC Ghose and NV Ramana.

The Bench was hearing a petition filed by the Indian Young Lawyers Association and five women lawyers seeking a direction to allow entry of women into the Sabarimala Ayyappa temple without age restriction.

The court gave permission to the government to submit an additional affidavit in the case. The court asked the government whether it was sure that women have not entered the temple premises in the last 1,500 years. But the Sabarimala temple bans women entirely. ” and asked the board which manages the famous temple, the Travancore Devaswom Board, to clarify its position on the issue”.

Women between the age of 10 and 50 are banned from entering the ancient temple dedicated to Lord Ayyappa.

The next hearing on this matter is on 8 February.

Only those, who have crossed menopause, are allowed, they claimed.

The bench told senior counsel K.K. Venugopal for Kerala, “Temples can’t prohibit entry except on the basis of religion”. They wanted guidelines laid down in matters of gender inequality in religious practices at places of worship.

The reason cited by the Board in defence of the ban before the High Court was that women of the age group 10 to 50 would not be in a position to observe Vratham continuously for a period of 41 days due to physiological reasons.

In fact, according to earlier reports, while the former Kerala Chief Minister K Karunakaran, who is an ardent follower of Hindu Gods Ayyappan and Guruvayoorappan, tried to take former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi to Sabarimala, in 1960s, he could not proceed further owing to the opposition from Hindu organisations.