{"id":88643,"date":"2026-02-19T11:27:54","date_gmt":"2026-02-19T05:57:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/?p=88643"},"modified":"2026-02-19T12:26:27","modified_gmt":"2026-02-19T06:56:27","slug":"sabarimala-verdict-review-supreme-court-to-revisit-2018-womens-entry-judgment","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/sabarimala-verdict-review-supreme-court-to-revisit-2018-womens-entry-judgment\/","title":{"rendered":"Sabarimala Verdict Review: Supreme Court to Revisit 2018 Women\u2019s Entry Judgment"},"content":{"rendered":"<h2><b>Sabarimala Verdict Latest News<\/b><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Supreme Court has scheduled hearings from April 7 before a nine-judge Constitution Bench to consider review petitions against its 2018 verdict that allowed women of all ages to enter the <\/span><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/upsc-exam\/sabarimala-case\/\" target=\"_blank\">Sabarimala<\/a><\/strong><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> Dharma Sastha Temple.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The 2018 judgment had sparked widespread protests during the temple\u2019s 41-day pilgrimage season and became a politically sensitive issue in Kerala.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">While the Kerala government continues to support women\u2019s entry, as stated in its 2017 affidavit, it is closely watching developments in the apex court. The review hearings are set against the backdrop of upcoming Assembly elections, adding renewed political and social significance to the case.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><b>Sabarimala Temple: Overview and Traditions<\/b><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Location:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> Sabarimala Temple is situated in the <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/periyar-tiger-reserve-ptr\/\" target=\"_blank\">Periyar Tiger Reserve<\/a><\/strong> in the Western Ghats of Kerala and is one of South India\u2019s most prominent pilgrimage centres.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Deity:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> The temple is dedicated to Lord Ayyappa, believed to be the son of Lord Shiva and Mohini (the female avatar of Lord Vishnu).<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Unique Practice:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> Devotees observe a strict 41-day penance (vratham) before the pilgrimage, renouncing worldly comforts and following spiritual discipline.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Celibate Deity Belief<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">: Lord Ayyappa is worshipped as a celibate (Naishtika Brahmachari) deity.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Entry Restriction (Customary):<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> Traditionally, women between 10 and 50 years (considered menstruating age) were barred from entry, citing the belief in preserving the deity\u2019s celibacy.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><b>1990\u201391: Kerala High Court Upholds Women\u2019s Entry Ban<\/b><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The first legal challenge to the Sabarimala entry restriction came in 1990, when a petitioner approached the Kerala High Court alleging that women aged 10 to 50 were visiting the temple in violation of custom.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In 1991, the High Court upheld the ban, ruling that the restriction was consistent with longstanding tradition and did not violate fundamental rights.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It also directed the Travancore Devaswom Board to strictly enforce the prohibition on women of menstruating age entering the temple.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><b>Supreme Court Intervention in the Sabarimala Case<\/b><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In 2006, the Indian Young Lawyers Association moved the Supreme Court under <\/span><b>Article 32, <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">challenging the ban on women aged 10\u201350 entering the Sabarimala temple.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The petition sought to strike down <\/span><b>Rule 3(b)<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> of the Kerala Hindu Places of Public Worship Rules, 1965, arguing it violated:\u00a0<\/span>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">constitutional guarantees of equality (Articles 14 and 15),\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">religious freedom (Article 25), and\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">the duty to renounce practices derogatory to women (Article 51A(e)).<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3><b>2018: Landmark 4:1 Verdict<\/b><\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In September 2018, a five-judge Constitution Bench, by a 4:1 majority, ruled that the exclusion of women based on age was unconstitutional.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The court struck down Rule 3(b), holding that custom cannot override fundamental rights.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The decision triggered widespread protests and multiple review petitions from temple-affiliated groups and stakeholders.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3><b>2019: Reference to Larger Bench<\/b><\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Ahead of the 2019 pilgrimage season, the Supreme Court observed that its verdict could have implications for other religious practices.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It referred the broader constitutional questions to a larger bench of at least seven judges but declined to stay the 2018 judgment.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3><b>2020: Review Petitions Held Maintainable<\/b><\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In 2020, a nine-judge bench led by then CJI S A Bobde held that the review petitions were maintainable.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The bench framed seven constitutional questions for consideration by a Constitution Bench, setting the stage for further judicial examination of the issue.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><b>Source:<\/b><strong> <a href=\"https:\/\/indianexpress.com\/article\/explained\/sabarimala-women-entry-supreme-court-review-10539322\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">IE<\/a> | <a href=\"https:\/\/indianexpress.com\/article\/political-pulse\/sabarimala-row-cpim-vijayan-govt-in-a-double-bind-on-poll-eve-10535448\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">IE<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Supreme Court will review the 2018 Sabarimala Verdict allowing women\u2019s entry. A look at the legal timeline, constitutional questions, and political implications.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":18,"featured_media":88659,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[60,5546,22,59],"class_list":{"0":"post-88643","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-upsc-mains-current-affairs","8":"tag-mains-articles","9":"tag-sabarimala-verdict","10":"tag-upsc-current-affairs","11":"tag-upsc-mains-current-affairs","12":"no-featured-image-padding"},"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/88643","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/18"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=88643"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/88643\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":88709,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/88643\/revisions\/88709"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/88659"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=88643"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=88643"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=88643"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}