BackSC questions rationale behind ban on women at Sabarimala temple
Lawyers defending the ban suggested that the women, who have not attained menopause, cannot preserve purity during the religious journey to the temple
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New Delhi: A Supreme Court bench on Monday questioned the rationale for keeping women out of the Sabarimala hill temple in Kerala.
When former attorney general K. Parasharan, representing the temple priests’ body, said religion could not be “rationalized", the judges countered that the “rational dimensions of constitutionality" will take precedence over irrational religion.
Girls and women of menstruating age are not allowed in the premises of the temple, dedicated to Lord Ayyappan.
A bench of justices Dipak Mishra, V. Gopala Gowda and Kurian Joseph was hearing a public interest litigation (PIL) filed by non-profit body Indian Young Lawyers Association, seeking entry for all women and girls in the Sabarimala temple.
Justice Mishra and the lawyers defending the ban exchanged literature on Hindu traditions, quoting Sanskrit verses. “A custom is immemorial and predates the Constitution," said K.K. Venugopal, representing the Travancore Devaswom Board, which administers the temple.
“Can you create an erosion of the constitutional identity of a woman? Can you hold her biological clock against her?" the court asked. Justice Joseph also asked if transgenders are allowed to enter the temple.
Lawyers defending the ban suggested that the women, who have not attained menopause, cannot preserve purity during the religious journey to the temple and climb the hill on which the temple is located. To this, the bench asked, “Did anyone stop women from climbing the Mount Everest because it is physically exhausting for them?"
The court will hear advocate Indira Jaising, appearing for Happy to Bleed, a non-profit, on how the ban adds to discrimination against menstruating women.
The court also clarified that a recent Bombay high court ruling upholding a woman’s right to worship will not halt proceedings on similar grounds in the top court. On 30 March, the high court decided on a PIL filed by activist Vidya Bal and advocate Nilima Varta seeking women’s entry into the temple and sanctum sanctorum of Maharashtra’s Shani Shingnapur temple.
The Sabarimala case will be heard next on 13 April.
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