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Sabarimala case: SC refuses to stay ruling
Why is it in news?
- The Supreme Court agreed to hear in open court review petitions against its majority judgment
- The judgement which lifted a ban on women aged between 10 and 50 years from undertaking the pilgrimage to the Sabarimala temple in Kerala.
- The review petitions will be heard by an “appropriate Bench” in open court on January 22, next year.
Majority ruling holds
- The Review Bench of five judges however refused to stay the majority judgment by a Constitution Bench on September 28.
- The majority judgment had declared the exclusion, solely based on the menstrual status of women, to be a smear on individual dignity.
- It said the bar amounted to “treating women as the children of a lesser God”.
- The refusal to stay the judgment would mean that worshippers, both men and women of all ages, can still undertake the pilgrimage when the temple re-opens on November 16 evening for Mandala Pooja.
- The pilgrimage season would end on January 20 after the Makaravilakku festival.
Impact on season
- The order of the court to examine its judgment is a positive step.
- But there are apprehensions that the review petitions would become infructuous once women aged between 10 and 50 enter the temple this pilgrimage season
Several appeals
- The apex court has seen a flood of review petitions.
- Oral pleas were made for an early hearing.
- The court has consistently refused to stay the September 28 judgment.
Source
The Hindu