The Supreme Court will pronounce its judgment tomorrow in the review petitions challenging the Sabarimala judgment of September 28, 2018 relating to entry of women into Sabarimala Temple in Kerala.

The judgment will be pronounced by a Bench of Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi and Justices Rohinton Nariman, AM Khanwilkar, DY Chandrachud and Indu Malhotra. 

On September 28, 2018, a Constitution Bench of then Chief Justice Dipak Misra and Justices Rohinton Nariman, AM Khanwilkar, DY Chandrachud, and Indu Malhotra had, by a 4:1 majority, struck down Rule 3(b) of the Kerala Hindu Places of Public Worship (Authorisation of Entry) Rules, 1965 which was the basis for barring entry of women between the ages of 10 and 50 years into the temple.

The Court had ruled that Rule 3(b) of 1965 Rules violated the right of Hindu women to practice religion under Article 25. Further, it was held that the bar on entry of women between the age of 10 and 50 years was not an essential part of the religion.

While four judges had struck down the Rule, Justice Indu Malhotra had penned a dissenting judgment holding that religious practices cannot be solely tested on the basis of Article 14 of the Constitution.

She had stated that notions of rationality cannot be brought into religion and that a balance needs to be struck between religious beliefs on one hand, and the cherished principles of non-discrimination and equality laid down by Constitution on the other.

The judgment of Supreme Court had significant ramifications in the State of Kerala, with the BJP, right wing organisations, as well as the Congress Party opposing the verdict. Attempts to prevent women from entering the shrine had led to violence in and around the temple.

Subsequently, 56 review petitions and some fresh writ petitions were filed challenging the verdict. The Court had heard the review petitions and writ petitions in open court before reserving its verdict on February 6 this year.

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