SC to take up Sabarimala review pleas after Jan 30

Tribune News Service
New Delhi, January 22

The Supreme Court today said it would take up petitions seeking review of its verdict allowing women of all age groups into the hill-top shrine of Lord Ayyappa at Sabarimala in Kerala after January 30 as Justice Indu Malhotra was currently indisposed.

Refusing to grant urgent hearing to around 50 review petitions on the issue, Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi said Justice Malhotra was on medical leave till January 30 and it would be possible to take up the review petitions only after she resumed work.

The CJI was responding to advocate Mathew J Nedumpara’s plea for urgent hearing of the review petitions that were originally listed for hearing today but deleted from the list because of Justice Malhotra’s unavailability.

The Bench had earlier indicated it on January 15 when Nedumpara had mentioned the issue and demanded live streaming of the hearing of Sabarimala review petitions.

The Supreme Court in November said it would take up on January 22 in open court around 50 petitions seeking review of its Sabarimala verdict.

But a five-judge Bench headed by CJI Gogoi had said that there would be no stay on its September 28 verdict allowing entry of women of all age groups to the temple.

The Bench, which included Justice Rohinton Nariman, Justice AM Khanwilkar and Justice DY Chandrachud, besides the CJI and Justice Malhotra, had said fresh writ petitions would be taken up after review petitions were decided. A Constitution Bench headed by then CJI Dipak Misra had on September 28 lifted the restriction on the entry of women into the temple, evoking a series of protests by women devotees of Lord Ayyappa.

The review petitioners contended that “sheer uniqueness” of the Sabarimala temple made it a fit case for grant of religious denomination status.