The Supreme Court’s decision to review the 2018 judgement that allowed women of menstruating age to enter the Sabarimala temple in Kerala comes at a crucial time for Kerala politics. A nine-judge Constitution Bench will hear the writ and review petitions from April 7, which is likely to coincide with the Assembly elections.
Though the Election Commission has not announced the schedule yet, the upcoming Assembly election in Kerala is expected to be held before mid-April. The hearing will put the ruling Left Democratic Front in a predicament as it has to make its stand clear on the issue of women’s entry, a subject it has been treading cautiously since a set back during the 2019 Lok Sabha elections. The Congress and the BJP had taken a stand in favour of the review since a 4-1 majority judgement permitted women of all age groups to enter Sabarimala temple.
As per the timeline set by the SC, the review petitions will be heard from April 7 to 9. There are over 60 writ and review petitions under the consideration of SC. Then the bench will hear those opposing the review from April 14-16. The amicus curiae will have the concluding submissions on April 22.
Appearing for the state at SC, advocate Jaideep Gupta told the court that the state was opposing the review. Meanwhile Solicitor General Tushar Mehar, who appeared for Centre, supported the review.
State Law Minister P Rajeev said that the state would take a stand after reviewing the religious and constitutional aspects of the issue. Rajeev said that the state’s previous affidavit had asked to form a decision based on the suggestion of a commission comprising Hindu religious leaders and social reformers. “This is not an objective type question,” Rajeev said when journalists prodded him for a clear stand on the review.
Community organisations Nair Service Society (NSS) and Sree Narayana Dharma Paripalana Yogam (SNDP) have expressed hope that the state government would respect the sentiments of the believers on the subject and object to the entry of women. NSS general secretary G Sukumaran Nair told reporters that the LDF has abandoned its earlier stand supporting women’s entry.
However, Kerala Pulayar Mahasabha requested the government not to change its stand on women’s entry. “The government should not back down from its progressive values or from its attempts to ensure gender equality,” said KPMS general secretary Punnala Sreekumar.
Leader of Opposition V D Satheesan said that the state government should revise its affidavit. “The government is dilly dallying on the issue. The government won’t need 10 minutes to prepare an affidavit. Many organisations were invited to global Ayyappa meet promising that the government would change its stand on women’s entry to Sabarimala,” Satheesan said.
BJP state president Rajeev Chandrasekhar said that the state government has taken multiple U-turns on the issue. “Our stand remains unchanged,” he said.
Women of menstruating age are denied permission based on the belief that the deity - Lord Ayyappa - is a celibate. Sabarimala witnessed tense moments after a 4-1 majority favoured entry of all women to Sabarimala, stating that the denial violated the right to worship and equality. Women who attempted to enter had to face a violent mob, often led by right wing groups. Amidst this, two women, Bindu Ammini and Kanakadurga, managed to enter the temple in January, 2019.
In November 2019, a five judge Constitution Bench decided to keep the review petitions pending without overturning the 2018 judgment and referred a set of seven constitutional questions to a larger bench.