SC observes Sabarimala's women entry ban unconstitutional: An explainer

In a 1991 judgment, the Kerala HC upheld the ban on the entry of women aged between 10 and 50 years in the Sabarimala temple

The ban on the entry of women in menstruating age (between 10 and 50 years) from entering the Sabarimala temple hit the headlines again on Wednesday, with the Supreme Court observing that the practice was unconstitutional.

The Chief Justice of India, Dipak Misra, questioned the temple authorities about the ban. "On what basis you (temple authorities) deny the entry. It is against the Constitutional mandate. Once you open it for the public, anybody can go," he said.

In a 1991 judgment, the Kerala High Court had held that the ban was in accordance with traditions, saying it was not discriminatory under the Constitution.

The Supreme Court took up the issue in January 2016 after a public interest litigation (PIL) by Indian Young Lawyers Association. Some women lawyers too challenged the validity of the ban and the Kerala High Court's judgment.

The PIL argued that the ban was not in line with any Hindu ritual, thus making it anti-Hindu altogether. It said that the temple authorities could only restrict the entry of women into the sanctum sanctorum, and could not ban their entry into the temple by discriminating against them on the basis of sex, reported The Hindu.

In October 2017, the SC referred the matter to a Constitution Bench to check its validity and whether it was violative of Articles 14, 15 and 17 of the Indian Constitution.

The Travancore Devasom Board (TDB), the management of the Sabarimala temple, argued in the apex court that the ban on the entry of women aged between 10 and 50 years was because they cannot maintain "purity" on account of menstruation.

The board is of the opinion that Lord Ayyappa, presiding deity of the temple, is a 'Naishtika Brahmachari' (perennial celibate) and thus the ban was in accordance with an age-old tradition.

The LDF government, which had been in support of doing away with the ban since 2007, instituted a probe to verify the reports which claimed that a few women used to worship at the temple. In January 2018, the Devasom Minister of Kerala claimed that there was no ban on women praying in the Sabarimala temple. He said that women have historically visited the temple, especially the erstwhile those of the erstwhile royal families.

Earlier this year, during the pilgrimage season at the temple, the TDB made it mandatory for women to carry an authentic age proof document to enter the temple even as the issue was being heard in the apex court.