INDIA BUSINESS WORLD - March 1^st - March 15^th - 2008

SABARIMALA GOES TO 3-JUDGE BENCH

The Supreme Court has referred the issue of granting entry to women at Sabarimala to a larger bench. A bench comprising Justice S B Sinha and Justice V S Sirpurkar referred the matter to a 3-judge bench to decide, saying substantial legal issues were involved.

The court, however, said that it was surprising that the state had changed its stand. "You did not appeal against the high court verdict," the judges said. The Kerala high court had upheld the ban of females between 10 and 50 into Sabarimala.

The state government supported the entry after a petition was filed in the apex court challenging the ban order. The Kerala government, in an affidavit filed in the apex court, said: "It is not fair to disallow a section of women from entering Sabarimala temple and worshipping."

"The denial of entry to women of a particular age group surely affects public right and it is a matter of public interest," it had said seeking intervention of the court to set up a commission for suggesting whether it could be opened to women irrespective of age.

The affidavit came in response to the apex court notice issued on a petition filed by the Indian Young Lawyers Association contending that barring females between 10 years to 50 years from entering the temple amounted to violation of Fundamental Rights and the restrictions should be quashed.

The petition also challenged validity of the provisions of the Kerala Hindu Places of Public Worship (Authorisation of Entry) Rules, 1965, which legalises the ban.