In what comes as a huge setback for those eager to desecrate the Sabarimala temple, an apex court bench headed by CJI S.A. Bobde has said that its 2018 verdict allowing women of all ages to enter the Sabarimala shrine was not the “final word” and the matter has been referred to a larger bench.
In September 2018, a Constitution Bench of the Supreme Court had decided through a 4:1 majority to allow women of all ages to enter the Sabarimala temple. Thereafter, the protesting devotees had made it clear that the restriction on entry of women in the age group of 10-50 years was supposed to protect the celibate status of Lord Ayyappa, in sharp contrast to the allegations of discriminatory treatment that were being levelled by the make-believe gender equality activists.
The Court made this observation while hearing a petition filed by Senior Advocate Indira Jaising, representing one Bindu Ammini alleging her client was attacked and the police refused to help her. Jaising argued that the 2018 verdict allowing women of all ages including those within the age group of 10-50 years to enter the famous shrine had not been stayed. She also contended before the top court that the Sabarimala shrine would close soon and her client wanted to visit it.
The Court’s remark has come as a huge slap in the face of adamant activists attempting to desecrate the sanctum sanctorum of the Sabarimala shrine. Bindu Ammini, who is a close aide of Tripti Desai, a controversial 33-year old gender equality activist from Pune, was allegedly attacked by a protestor with pepper spray when she was coming out of the Commissioner’s office to take some papers from the car, which included the court order. Bindu Ammini was also one of the two women who had surreptitiously entered the shrine in a clear act of desecration on January 2 this year.
The apex court has listed Bindu’s petition for next week along with another petition filed by a woman identified as Rehana Fathima who has also brought the issue of entry of women to the Sabarimala temple before the Supreme Court.
Though the Court has admitted both these petitions, what comes as a rather positive development is CJI Bobde’s observation- “There is a larger bench now. The September (2018) verdict is not the final word in this issue.” This observation comes as a setback for those who have been of the opinion that as long as the 2018 verdict is not stayed, they will get a free run when it comes to desecrating the Sabarimala shrine. It also comes as a glimmer of hope for the Lord Ayyappa devotees.
A recent apex court verdict had by a narrow 3:2 majority, referred the Sabarimala review petition to a larger bench consisting of seven judges. The larger bench will not only hear the Sabarimala issue but will also decide the question whether any religion can impose a ban upon the entry of women to enter places of worship. The Court has clubbed two specific cases- a petition by two Parsi women married to non-Parsis to enter the Tower of Silence and a plea seeking entry of women into Mosques.
The decision to refer the matter to a larger bench was being already seen as a foot in the door for the devotees. Now, with the top court observing that the 2018 verdict was not the final word, the hope of Lord Ayyapa devotees to get the 2018 verdict, allowing entry of women of all ages to the shrine, overturned, gets further brightened.