Supreme Court To Begin Hearing On Sabarimala, Other Faith Vs Rights Cases Today

A nine-judge bench headed by chief Justice SA Bobde of the Supreme Court will hear the Sabarimala case involving entry of women into the shrine. The bench will also hear other related cases of religious discrimination, such as entry of women into mosques to offer namaz.

Two other cases related to women from Parsi and Dawood Bohra communities are also listed for hearing on Monday. The Supreme Court will interpret the question of how far it can decide on matters of faith and interpret religion.

The nine-judge bench will decide on the extent to which the apex court can go into the issue of a particular practice which is an integral part of the religion or a practice of a particular religious denomination. It would also decide whether such a matter should be left exclusively to be interpreted by the head of the section of the religious group.

The Supreme Court would also decide whether essential religious practices of a denomination or group are provided constitutional protection under Article 26. It will also go into the issue of the extent to which the judiciary can decide on such matters questioning religious practices of a denomination at the instance of people who are not affiliated to such religious denominations.

The apex court has indicated its inclination to complete the hearing in this clutch of cases expeditiously.

On September 28, 2018 the Supreme Court held that women irrespective of their age have the right to enter the Sabarimala Ayyappa temple in Kerala.