The Supreme Court on Friday will pronounce its judgement in the Sabarimala case, which argues that women of all ages should be allowed to enter the temple. At present, women between the ages 10 and 50 are banned from entering the temple. A five-Judge bench, comprising Chief Justice Dipak Misra, Justice Rohinton Fali Nariman, Justice AM Khanwilkar, Justice DY Chandrachud and Justice Indu Malhotra, will read out four verdicts today.

Sabarimala is a temple dedicated to Lord Ayyappa located in Pathanamthitta district in Kerala. Managed by the Travancore Devaswom Board, there are restrictions for the entry of women between 10 and 50 years of age in the temple since it is believed that Lord Ayyappa, who is the presiding deity, is a celibate and menstruating women cannot be allowed inside the temple premises on account of ‘purity’.

In 2006, Indian Young Lawyers Association filed a petition in the Supreme Court opposing this practice and sought the lifting of the ban. However, after many twists and turns in the case -- with the Kerala government flipping flopping in its stand and women’s groups filing petitions saying ‘tradition should be respected’, even as more groups filed PILs saying women should be allowed entry -- the Supreme Court will finally decide if women can enter this temple in Kerala.

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