New Delhi, 14 May (H.S.): The Supreme Court's nine-judge Constitution Bench has concluded hearings in the Sabarimala temple case and reserved its verdict. The bench, headed by Chief Justice Suryakant, conducted hearings in this matter for 16 days.

The Supreme Court's nine-judge Constitution Bench began hearings in this case on April 7. In its affidavit filed in the court, the Central Government stated that the restriction on the entry of women of menstruating age into the Sabarimala temple is a matter of religious faith and autonomy. The Central Government has urged the court to uphold this restriction and said that judicial review in such cases should be limited.

The bench, presided over by Chief Justice Suryakant, includes Justices B.V. Nagarathna, M.M. Sundresh, Ahsanuddin Amanullah, Arvind Kumar, A.J. Masih, P.B. Varale, R. Mahadevan, and Joymalya Bagchi.

On September 28, 2018, the Supreme Court delivered a 4-1 majority verdict. The court had stated that women have faced discrimination for a long time. A woman is not inferior to a man. On one hand, we revere women as goddesses; on the other, we discriminate against them. The court had ruled that women's religious freedom cannot be terminated due to biological and physiological reasons.

Four judges, including then-Chief Justice Dipak Misra, had held that this was against the rights granted under Article 25 of the Constitution. Justice Indu Malhotra delivered a dissenting opinion from the other four judges. She had said that the court should not interfere in matters of religious faith. She stated that court intervention in worship is not appropriate. The temple itself should decide the mode of worship.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar