Supreme Court 9-judge Bench to hear Sabarimala reference from April 7

A nine-judge Constitution Bench of the Supreme Court will start hearing the reference made in the Sabarimala review case from April 7. .The 9-judge Bench will examine seven important legal questions concerning religious rights and freedoms which will then decide the course of Sabarimala temple entry controversy on whether women can be allowed to enter the hill shrine in Kerala.A Bench of Chief Justice of India (CJI) Surya Kant and Justices Joymalya Bagchi and Vipul M Pancholi today asked the parties to the case to file their written submissions in the matter by March 14. "We may advert to order dated Feb 10, 2020, framing the seven questions to be determined by the nine-judges bench. With a view to answer the questions that remained pending, we direct parties to file their written submissions on or before March 14, 2026," the Court said in its order today.The Court also laid down the timeline to be followed by the lawyers arguing the matter. The hearing will conclude on April 22. "The nine judge bench will begin hearing the Sabarimala review case on April 7, 2026 at 10:30 am. The review petitioners or the party suporting them shall be heard from April 7 to April 9. The ones opposing the review shall be heard on April 14 to April 16. The rejoinder submissions if any will be heard on April 21 followed by the final and concluding submissions by the learned amicus which is expected to be over by April 22. The parties shall adhere to the above time schedule. The nodal counsels in consultation with arguing counsel of the parties shall prepare the internal arrangement so that oral submissions from both sides can be heard within stipulated timeline," the Court directed.Pertinently, the Central government today told the Court that it is supporting the review petitions in Sabarimala case which challenge the 2018 verdict on entry of women to the temple."We are supporting the review my lord," Solicitor General Tushar Mehta said on behalf of the Central government."There are some unforeseen bridges which we may have to cross when we are hearing the case," the Bench remarked.Senior Advocate CS Vaidyanathan appearing for Kerala Kshetra Samrakshana Samithi and Sabarimala Aiyappa Seva Samajam also stated that he too supports the review. .The issues goes back to the top court's September 2018 verdict in which a 5-judge Constitution Bench, by a majority of 4:1, allowed women of all ages to enter the hilltop shrine in Kerala. That decision overturned the tradition that restricted the entry of women of menstruating age. The ruling triggered widespread protests across Kerala and led to dozens of review petitions being filed by various individuals and organizations before the apex court.In November 2019, the Supreme Court pronounced its judgment on the review petitions but did not decide the matter one way or the other.It held that larger issues pertaining to the Essential Religious Practices Test, interplay between Articles 25 and 26 on one hand and Article 14 on the other and the conflict between the judgments in the Shirur Mutt case and Durgah Committee case will have to be decided by a larger Bench.The Sabarimala review petitions will remain pending until the determination of the questions by the larger Bench, the review Bench held..A 9-judge Bench was slated to hear the following larger legal questions:Ambit and scope of religious freedom;Interplay between rights of people under Article 25 and the rights of religious denominations under Article 26 of the Constitution of India;Whether rights of religious denomination are subject to other provisions of Part III of the Constitution;Scope and extent of morality under Articles 25 and 26 and whether it includes Constitunal morality;Whether religious denominations enjoy fundamental rights;Meaning of expression "section of Hindus" under Article 25(2)(b);Whether a person not belonging to a religious group can question practice of that religious group by filing a PIL..The matter later went into cold storage after COVID-19 hit and functioning of courts were disrupted.The 9-judge Bench's decision will decide how the Sabarimala review petitions are decided and whether women will be allowed entry to the temple.It will also impact other pending cases issues regarding entry of Muslim Women in Durgah/Mosque, of Parsi Women married to a non-Parsi in the Agyari and the practice of female genital mutilation among the Dawoodi Bohra community..Follow Bar and Bench channel on WhatsAppDownload the Bar and Bench Mobile app for instant access to the latest legal news.