Sabarimala Temple row: Supreme Court reserves verdict

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

Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra on Wednesday observed 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.

Dolly, a palanquin-type carriage in which the elderly and the physically-challenged devotees are carried by four men on their shoulders between Pampa and Sabarimala. Image: Praveen/Creative Commons“The Deity is celibate and it is the Deity's will and right to protect his vow of Naishtika Brahmacharya,” Swarajya quoted the CJI as saying.

The Supreme Court is hearing for the past few days the case on women's entry inside the inner sanctum of the Sabarimala temple in Kerala. The apex court resumed its hearing yesterday.

Advocate J Sai Deepak, the counsel appearing for intervener organisation People for Dharma, presented his arguments on the matter last week.

Deepak argued for the right of the deity and said  Lord Ayyappa has rights under articles 21, 25 and 26 of the Constitution of India, and his right to remain a "naisthika bramhachari" falls under Article 25.

"The fact that nobody introduced the deity's rights in court or personified the deity's right by giving it a certain flesh-and-blood character, which already exists and is recognised under law, is perhaps why I got a shot in court in terms of an audience," Deepak was quoted as saying in his argument by the media.

Image: Creative CommonsHe said: "Consequently, the deity enjoys rights as a person under article 25(1), 26 and 21. The deity as the 'Owner of His Abode' enjoys the right to privacy under Article 21. This includes the right to preserve his celibate form and... (uphold) his vow of a naisthika brahmacharya." 

Advocate V K Biju, appearing for Rahul Easwar, a philosophy Author & Activist, argued for maintaining the current restrictions.

He submitted that the restriction has got nothing to do with menstruation, but with the celibate character of the Deity, according to Swarajya.

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.