Supreme Court to hear Review Petitions challenging Sabarimala Judgment next Wednesday

The Supreme Court will commence hearing on Wednesday next week, the review petitions filed challenging the Sabarimala judgment of September 28, 2018 relating to entry of women, irrespective of their age, into Sabarimala Temple in Kerala..Justice Indu Malhotra, who is one of the five judges on the Bench slated to hear the matter, confirmed the same today in open court when she said she will not be available on the regular Bench on Wednesday and Thursday next week as she will be hearing the Sabarimala case..Forty-nine review petitions have been filed in total. These review petitions were first listed for an in-chamber hearing on November 13 before the Bench of CJI Ranjan Gogoi and Justices Rohinton Nariman, AM Khanwilkar, DY Chandrachud and Indu Malhotra. .Following this, the Bench had initially agreed to hear the matter in open court on January 22, while declining to stay the challenged judgment..However, the hearing was deferred after it became unclear whether Justice Indu Malhotra would be available on the said date owing to her being on medical leave. It is now intimated that the hearing will take take place next week on Wednesday..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..This judgment has 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 have also led to violence in and around the temple..Fresh writ petitions challenging the judgment have also been filed. These writ petitions are also likely to be listed along with the review petitions. The Bench had informed that these writ petitions will be heard subject to the decision of the review petitions filed against the Sabarimala verdict..Read the notice below.