Hearing on review plea for the recall of Sabarimala verdict on Nov 13

The Supreme Court on Tuesday said it will hear on November 13 a batch of petitions seeking recall of the constitution bench verdict permitting the entry of women in the age group of 10 to 50 years in Lord Aayappa's Sabarimala temple.

Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi said in the course of morning mentioning that the review petitions would be listed on November 13 for hearing at 3pm.

The Court on Monday had said it would decide on Tuesday on the hearing of the review petitions seeking recall of a September 28 Constitution Bench verdict.

National Association of Aayappa Devotees, Nair Service Society, and 17 other organisation have moved the review petition seeking recall of September 28 verdict.

The five-judge Constitution Bench headed by then Chief Justice Misra had junked the age old tradition of the Lord Ayyappa temple by a majority verdict of 4:1.

It said that the ban on women in menstruating age group, whose presence at the Sabarimala temple was considered to be "impure", violated their fundamental rights and constitutional guarantee of equality.

The petitioners have argued that besides "patent legal errors" in the verdict, the assumption that the temple practice is based on notions of menstrual impurity is "factually erroneous".

Pointing to protests against the verdict by women worshippers, the petitioners have contended that "events that transpired after the judgment clearly demonstrate that overwhelmingly large sections of women worshippers are supporting the custom of prohibiting entry of women."

--IANS

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