Supreme Court will review its Sabarimala order

Entry of women not restricted as court refuses to grant stay but priests, protesters celebrate.

A five-judge Supreme Court bench led by Chief Justice of India (CJI), Ranjan Gogoi, on Tuesday agreed to reconsider its September judgment that allowed women of all ages to enter the Sabarimala temple in Kerala, but refused to stay the operation of the verdict that would have the effect of disallowing the entry of women into the hilltop shrine. The apex court bench, also comprising justices RF Nariman, AM Khanwilkar, DY Chandrachud and Indu Malhotra, fixed January 22 to take up the 49 review petitions calling for a reversal of its September 28 verdict and other applications in the matter.

In Kerala, the court’s decision to revisit the verdict was greeted with relief. Glued to their television sets the whole day, devotees of Lord Ayyappa, the presiding deity in Sabarimala, celebrated the ruling by staging victory rallies and distributing sweets. Kerala’s ruling Communist Party of India (Marxist), or CPI (M), which has vowed to enforce the court order, said the decision to review the verdict was not a setback to it, but both the Congress party and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) asked chief minister, Pinarayi Vijayan, to see the writing on the wall and drop his “adamant posture”.

This order was issued after the petitions were circulated among the judges in their chambers at 3pm, in accordance with rules of the top court. No lawyers are present during these proceedings. As per the rules, the bench that delivers the original verdict considers the review petition. In the Sabarimala case, a new bench was convened and CJI Gogoi stepped in to head it because former chief justice Dipak Misra, who was part of the bench that delivered the original ruling in September, has since retired.

The lone woman judge on the bench, justice Malhotra, dissented with the original ruling, which review petitioners have cited in support of their demand.

Several applicants had asked for an open court hearing of the petitions, which the court appears to have accepted.

“All the petitions along with all pending applications will be heard in Open Court on 22nd January, 2019, before the appropriate Bench. We make it clear that there is no stay of the judgment and order of this Court dated 28th September, 2018, passed in Writ Petition (Civil) No.373 of 2006 (Indian Young Lawyers Association & Ors. vs. The State of Kerala & Ors,” read the order.

On September 28,the apex court ruled by a 4-1 majority that no woman can be stopped from entering Sabarimala temple, ending a traditional ban on the entry of women between 10 and 50 years of age in to the shrine. Women of reproductive age were restricted from entering the over 800-year-old shrine in south Kerala’s Pathanamthitta district because its presiding deity, Lord Ayyappa, is considered to be a celibate.

Several groups have opposed the verdict and staged violent protests against it. No woman of reproductive age has entered the shrine since the court order was delivered.

A specific direction saying there shall be no stay on the operation of its earlier verdict means the temple governing board, in compliance with the ruling, will have to allow women in the age group to enter the temple when it reopens on November 17.

Forty-nine review petitions have been filed before apex court against the verdict. Three fresh petitions also came up for hearing before a bench led by CJI Gogoi on Tuesday morning. The court made it clear that the new cases would be heard once a decision is given during the day on the review petitions. The three will now be heard with the original review petitions.

The Supreme Court, in its original verdict, held the ban on women’s entry into the Sabarimala temple to be “unconstitutional” and a form of “untouchability”. Those who support the ban argued that the temple board constituted a separate religious denomination and, hence, entitled to protection under the Constitution that allows citizens to practise one’s religion and manage institutions under it, a contention rejected by the court.

Kerala chief minister, Vijayan, said the fact that the Supreme Court did not stay its earlier verdict meant that government was duty-bound to enforce it and it will seek legal opinion. Legal experts also said that since no stay has been clamped on the operation of the earlier verdict, it was up to the government to decide whether to allow women entry into the shrine pending a final order .

Hailing the decision, the Tantri (supreme priest) of the temple, Rajeevaru Kandarau, said, “It is a welcome move. Lord Ayyappa helped us. We are really grateful to all devotees who stood to protect the temple customs.”

Last month, when two women came in the vicinity of the entrance to the temple, the tantri threatened to close the shrine. He is one of the petitioners who has filed review pleas. “We need peace at the temple. Hope SC decision will help maintain it,” he said.

Both the Congress and the BJP said they will continue their protests and oppose any move to flout temple customs. “Now it is the duty of the government to maintain peace at the temple,” said opposition leader, Ramesh Chennithala, of the Congress. BJP state president, PS Sreedharan Pillai, who took out a ‘rath yatra,’ said it was a clear setback to the state government. “It is an unusual step from the apex court. Hope the government will realise its seriousness,” Pillai said.

Activist Rahul Eshwar said peaceful protests would continue and the temple would be guarded. “We will guard the temple till January 22. Hope at least now the government will respect devotees’ sentiments,” he said.