The Supreme Court on Tuesday notified a nine-judge bench to hear the review petitions filed against its earlier order allowing women of all ages to enter Kerala's Sabarimala temple. The issue of the entry of women in Muslim and Parsi places of worship will also come up for hearing which begins on January 13.
The bench will be headed by Chief Justice S.A. Bobde and comprises justices R. Banumathi, Ashok Bhushan, L. Nageswara Rao, Mohan M. Shantanagoudar, S. Abdul Nazeer, R. Subhash Reddy, B.R. Gavai and Surya Kant.
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Justice Banumathi is the only woman judge on the bench. Justice R.F. Nariman and D.Y. Chandrachud, who had ruled in favour of the entry of women in Sabarimala, are not on the bench. Justice Indu Malhotra who ruled against the entry of women was also not included.
On November 14, last year, a five-judge Constitution bench in a 3:2 majority verdict had referred to a larger 7-judge bench, the pleas seeking review of its historic 2018 judgment allowing women and girls of all ages to enter Sabarimala temple.
It had, however, said that the debate about the constitutional validity of religious practices like bar on entry of women and girls into a place of worship was not limited to the Sabarimala case.
The top court said such restrictions are there with regard to entry of Muslim women into mosques and 'dargah' and Parsi women, married to non-Parsi men, being barred from the holy fire place of an Agyari.
It said that it was time for the apex court to evolve a judicial policy to do "substantial and complete justice".
