A plea filed in the Supreme Court on Friday has demanded that 50% of the Constitution bench – set up to decide on women’s entry inside the inner sanctum of Kerala’s Sabarimala temple – should comprise female judges, Live Law reported. Alternatively, the application said a special jury comprising people of eminence could be set up to decide on the matter within a specified time frame.
The petitioner, 85-year-old S Nampoothiri, also criticises the fact that in the past 67 years, the Supreme Court has had only six female judges of a total of 229 judges. “Applying the principles of justice in its various forms and considering the historic wrongs of inadequate representation of women in the Constituent Assembly while drafting the Constitution, it is desirable to have at least 50% women judges on the roster,” the petition reads.
On October 13, the Supreme Court had referred the matter of women’s entry inside the Sabarimala temple to a five-judge Constitution bench. The judges also framed six questions for the Constitution bench to consider.
The Sabarimala temple in Kerala does not allow women between the ages of 10 and 50 to enter its inner sanctum, a practice defended by its managing authority, the Travancore Devaswom Board. On April 20, the board had said that women wishing to offer prayers in the temple’s inner sanctum must carry proof of age.
The top court’s Constitution bench will decide whether the practice is gender discriminatory and violates the right to equality and religious freedom of women. It will also decide whether the restriction qualifies as an “essential religious practice” of the Hindu faith, over which the Supreme Court has no jurisdiction.
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