Sabarimala Temple entry: Supreme Court to give its verdict today

The Supreme Court on Aug 1 reserved its verdict on the clutch of pleas that have been challenging the ban on the entry of women, who are aged between 10 to 50 years, in the Sabarimala Temple in Kerala dedicated to Lord Ayyappan. 

The five-judge constitutional bench led by Chief Justice Dipak Misra had asked both sides to compile and present their submissions within seven days. 

Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra had observed then that it was the deity that has a right to restrict entry into the temple located inside the Periyar Tiger Reserve in the Western Ghat mountain ranges of Pathanamthitta District, reports said.

The CJI made the observation at a time when senior counsel R P Gupta was making his submissions against the arguments to uphold the temple’s tradition of not permitting women who are aged between 10 to 50 years.

Several women activists have opposed the ban on the entry of women inside the temple.

Earlier in January this year, the Travancore Devaswom Board (TDB), which manages the Sabarimala Temple, had decided to make proof-of-age documents mandatory for female devotees at the shrine.

Sabarimala is a Hindu pilgrimage centre at the Periyar Tiger Reserve in the Western Ghat mountain ranges of Pathanamthitta District and is one of the largest annual pilgrimages in the world with an estimated 45–50 million devotees visiting every year.

Ayyappan's temple is situated amidst 18 hills on a hilltop.